


think of me and burn & let me hold your hand

by birdsandmirrors, gigi_originally



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Peter Pan & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Multi, Roleplay, Sexual Content, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-07
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-11 11:50:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 64,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1172724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdsandmirrors/pseuds/birdsandmirrors, https://archiveofourown.org/users/gigi_originally/pseuds/gigi_originally
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wendy Darling gets a boyfriend. Peter Pan is not happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the Rad Neverlanders Skype RP - THE SECRET MAKE-OUTS 'VERSE
> 
>  **Peter Pan** \- played by Sonya a.k.a. gigi_originally or (on tumblr) [calculated2stagger](http://calculated2stagger.tumblr.com/)  
>  **Wendy Darling** \- played by Audrey a.k.a. birdsandmirrors or (on tumblr) [birdsandmirrors](http://birdsandmirrors.tumblr.com/)
> 
> In this 'verse we text, we paragraph RP, we do not indicate who is doing what half the time. Good luck. :D
> 
> Special thanks to [Yazzy](http://yazerbaijan.tumblr.com/) for her epic 37-page proof.

“So they’re finally together?” 

“Yeah, finally made it official. Honestly, I was surprised they weren’t already.”

Peter Pan doesn’t usually listen to school gossip. Please, he has so many other, better things to do first like _hang himself_. Jesus, high school can be so shit. But here he is, sat behind two vapid cheerleaders eavesdropping on their conversation because they mentioned his kryptonite: _Wendy Darling_.

God, she’s been looking great this year. He hadn’t seen quite as much of her as he would have liked over the summer holiday so it’s both relief and torture to be able to see her every day again. But now...now there’s a swelling rage inside him that he can hardly control because, according to Ditz One and Ditz Two, she’s in a relationship. With _Baelfire_.

What the fuck kind of name is Baelfire anyway?

Hoping to high heaven that these two are as well-informed as their grades are high, Peter swings his attention away from them and scans the cafeteria for the object of his...emotions. ‘Affections’ is too soft, too kind a word for the violence of feeling Wendy wroughts inside him.  She brings out the best and the worst in him in equal measure and he both loves and hates her for it with every fibre of his being. Most often though, he can only show her the worst, because if he showed her anything else, she would _know_. She would know and she would scorn and he can’t...he _wouldn’t_ be able to take that. So he makes her cry, teases her until her cheeks flush, and wishes secretly that his lips were doing other things to incite her to such color.

Across the wide expanse of students, he finds her as easily as always, his eyes drawn to her like fresh water to the ocean, all pretty smiles and golden curls...under the arm of Baelfire.

The world stills around him, everything else becoming white noise as the two lean shyly into each other and exchange a quick kiss. It’s the longest second of Peter’s life.

If he thought what he felt at the rumour was a swelling rage, what he feels now is a typhoon of torment and fury. He shoots to his feet, fists clenched, and glares hard at them. He takes no notice of the commotion he causes, of the chair sent skidding across the regulation vinyl, the overturned tray in front of him, the wide-eyed Felix and Tink at the far end of the table. All he sees is Wendy kissing someone else and he cannot bear it.

He storms from the room toward his next class for no other reason than it gives him somewhere to go. The classroom is occupied so he opens the door to the always-empty Chem lab/storage room beside it and sits in wait there. Wendy has the next class with him, without Baelfire. He should talk to her; find out what exactly is going on...maybe convince her Baelfire is a useless dick who doesn’t deserve her time. Yes, this seems like a good plan.

Five minutes later, his hand closes around Wendy’s delicate wrist and hauls her into the dim of the Chem Lab and he doesn’t know what he’s doing at all.

 

#

For once, in some time, Wendy Darling is on a little cloud, and there’s barely a shadow in the sky. She can’t help it: after all, she has a boyfriend, and that is something to be celebrated, right? She’s only a teenager, and her heart flutters, as it should. She’s heard horrible stories, scary stories of girls having terrible experiences with boys, mean little boys stealing kisses and treating girls like dirt - and here she is, dating Baelfire, who is probably one of the sweetest people she knows. He makes her feel comfortable, at ease, and being in a relationship with him feels as easy as breathing. She convinces herself that easy is what she wants, and that she doesn’t long for something with more fire, more heat. It’s too soon for her to truly let herself think it.

Baelfire knows her. He knows her heart, and he knows that, while she cares for him, not so long ago, Wendy’s thoughts were preoccupied by somebody else. He knows it, and accepts it and to be honest, he effortlessly managed to dissolve the usual claw she feels around her heart - the one that Peter Pan, her worst tormenter, the cruel, mean boy who haunted her fantasies despite herself, put there.

Truly, she’s let herself put aside her thoughts of Peter - and it’s a good thing, because the thought of him has been suffocating her long enough, gnawing at her thoughts, making her hate him, and hate herself for being silly enough to think about him like that after the hell he’s put her through since the beginning of high school. Wendy Darling felt light, happy, serene - until she saw, across the crowd, Peter Pan storming out of the cafeteria like hellhounds were after him.

She feels something in her heart twinge, and the only thing that brings her back is the soft touch of Baelfire’s fingertips against her neck. She glances back at the sweet boy, and immediately, she feels a little better.

Her relief is short-lived. A few minutes later, she makes her way towards her locker, and she feels a presence behind her - she turns and, before she knows what’s happening, she meets Peter Pan’s dark, unsettling gaze as he pulls her into the Chem Lab. Gasping, the teenage girl hears the door close behind her, and she quickly, instinctively snatches her hand away from Peter, ignoring the way her heart quickened at his touch. It’s a reaction that’s etched into her bones, and she can’t help it - when he’s too close, she’s automatically flustered and wary. She takes a few steps back, giving him an irritated glance - who does he think he is? Is he now retorting to picking on her in private? He’s usually content to do it in public, twisting all the knives he has in his possession to make her want to collapse in front of him. She narrows her eyes, frustrated, because _no_ , Peter Pan won’t take her joy away from her. She’s happy, dammit, and he’s not going to ruin this one. _No_.  

“What the hell are you doing?” she asks, irked, a little more agitated than she would like to be, even if she keeps a steely composure. “Don’t you have other people to push around?”

 

#

She’s pissed, as usual, and it settles something inside him. He’s still raging, some terrible dragon-like monster of anger clawing at the undersides of his ribs trying to get at her, to devour her in any way possible, but he knows how to deal with her anger. He can meet it with his own and knows there will be sparks and _fire_ but she will, in that moment, be all his.

He breathes deeply and opens his mouth to taunt her. What comes out is not what he meant to say at all.

“What am _I_ doing?” he asks, pointing to himself, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Bird?”

The ‘Bird’ slips out only when they fight. He’s never told her why he calls her that. It’s a secret he isn’t willing to share. He doesn’t want her to know just how long, how much, how deeply he’s fallen for her.

 

#

If she wasn’t determined not to let him know just how much he gets to her, she spitefully thinks he might get too much satisfaction from it, she would scream and claw at him with her nails. He has the _nerve_ to look angry with _her_ \- like he’s not the one who showed up out of the blue to pull her into an empty lab with no reason, like he’s not the one who goads her on a daily basis, like he’s not the one who seems hellbent on ruining every little scrap of happiness she has...

And she wants to cry because, until he showed up like a black cloud of thunder in her perfect sky, her day was going so well, and her heart was fluttering. Now, she feels the pleasant quiver become a painful throbbing in his presence.

She scoffs at him, her eyes widening in disbelief, and she crosses her arms, closing herself off. She’s somewhere between confusion and irritation, because how dare he act like she did something to him? He’s the one who’s always going after her, like a sadistic cat who likes to scare a mouse.

“ _Me_?” she retorts, her voice rising despite herself. “You’re the one who pulled me in here without _asking_! Don’t act like _I_ did something to you!”

 

# 

He wants to tell her she’s always doing something to him, whether she knows it or not, whether she cares or not. She breathes too hard and his whole world tilts off-kilter. It’s a little sickening, really, how much attention he pays to her, how much he allows her to affect him. He thinks it’s unhealthy. Felix has told him as much. Tink looks at him with wary eyes, and while she might be Wendy’s best friend but she’s never betrayed Peter’s reluctant trust. And he looks at himself in the mirror with revulsion. What has his life become?

That thought, added on top of everything else, makes him step toward her, crowd her back until she’s pressed against the door. He’s done this before, once or twice, just to get close and smell her sweet apple scent, to feel the rush of her breath on his skin. Now though, he does it simply to intimidate her because he’s more angry than he’s ever been and, underneath all that anger is _hurt_.

He feels betrayed because, for all that they fight, she is _his_. He’s seen her glance his way, seen her eye him, he thought-- God, he doesn’t know what he thought.

“Tell me it’s not true,” he demands suddenly. His voice is a strangled growl from the back of his throat. “Tell me you’re not with him.”

 

# 

She fights back a gasp when he takes a few steps in her direction, and her stomach twists as she feels her back collide with the door. He’s close to her, so close that she can smell the intoxicating scent of him. It’s the faintest whiff of cologne, and although the smell isn’t strong, it fills her lungs, and she almost forgets to breathe. However, her anger pushes through the fact that she’s flustered - because she’s angry with him, angrier than she has been in a while. He’s hovering over her like a predator, vindictive and spiteful - he’s acting like she did something wrong, and it scares her a little, as well as infuriates her.

Is he just doing this for _fun_?

And then, his voice comes out, and the words are so far from what she expected that she widens her eyes, her expression vulnerable, stunned for a moment.

 _Baelfire_. This is about Baelfire.

She doesn’t know if she’s more confused or outraged, or maybe hopeful, just a little, despite her better judgment, despite the fact that she shouldn’t be - because he’s not jealous, he can’t be, he _wouldn’t_ be. It’s not possible, and he has no right to whisk into her life like a hurricane, he has no right to try to bully her, he has no right to question what she does like he has any claim on her activities, and he has no right to yank back, albeit unknowingly, the heart _he_ bruised from Baelfire’s gentle keeping.

He can’t make her feel like this. How does he make her feel so miserable with just a few words ? It’s so unfair, and the thought makes her hostile.

The indignation wins out before her thoughts can fully form into her clouded mind, and she lifts her chin in a show of animosity, ice in her eyes. 

“I don’t see how that’s any of _your_ business,” she snaps, her tone firm, albeit slightly quivering.

 

#

She’s surprised, obviously, because he sounds jealous. He knows he does and he doesn’t want to but god, she takes the wind out of his sails and sends him spinning in the opposite direction. He can’t control himself around her. It’s terrifying.

He can tell the moment she digs her heels in. There’s a little crinkle to her brow that always forms when she’s determined to beat him down with her words. She can do it too. She’s battered his ego and his heart in equal measure over the years but he keeps coming back for more. He’s pathetic.

He’s fucking _in love_ with her.

But then, then she tells him her relationship with Baelfire is none of his business and he laughs. It bursts out him, all incredulity because she has _no idea_. One glance at her stormy eyes though and he cuts it off abruptly. He brings one hand up to brace against the door beside her head and the other runs shakily through his hair as he tells her, “It _is._ ”

And then he can’t shut up because he clings to the next words with all his might but they still come pouring out of him anyway.

“You’re _mine_ , Wendy-bird. It’s definitely my fucking business.”

 

# 

Damn him, damn him to hell - he’s _laughing_. He’s laughing in her face, and she could just slap him - he deserves a good slap in the face, as Tink often says, and Wendy thinks she might just be the one to do it. The nerve of him, dragging her in here to demand answers and then laugh at her, like he has any right to even ask anything - they’re not even _friends_ , for heaven’s sake. When he doesn’t torment her with his words, he makes her flutter with his glances and his smiles until she aches - and she _hates_ him. _I hate you, Peter Pan, I hate you!_ she screams on the inside.

He stops laughing, though, and he brings a hand above her head, caging her, and she tries really hard not to blush at the proximity. This is too intimate, this is too close. He’s doing this on purpose, to unhinge her, and all she does is glare at him.

And then he speaks, and once again, he sends her reeling - _what the fuck_?

She’s - _what_? She’s _his_? What parallel universe does he live in?

 _You’re mine, Wendy-bird_ \- oh, those words. She’s played them before in her mind, in secret, almost ashamed of the intense possessiveness she heard them with, thrilled by the idea that somehow, in some deep part of his soul, Peter Pan might want her - and the way he says it, even now, makes her shudder, but it’s not with a thrill, although she _does_ feel a familiar twist in her stomach, in her heart.

She wants to scream and she wants to sob because she hates that he has such an effect on her, and this is just a game to him, anyway - and goddammit, she is not _his_. What claim does he think he has on what she does? His reasons for saying that go, in milli-seconds, from her wildest fantasies come true to the feeling that he’s just doing this because he wants to ruin her life. Once again, she can’t process it, she’s almost unwilling to. It’s too dangerous, it’s too much, it’s too _painful_. Rather she fuels her steel with scorn, straightening her spine.

“Listen,” she hisses, looking straight at him. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing at, but I’m not _playing_. So take your attitude, and _choke on it._ ”

And then, in a daring show of animosity, in an almost desperate desire to get away, she moves from the door, and shoves him, her hands pushing on his chest.

 

#

He’s dying to undo the last few moments even as he watches her gape at him. If he didn’t have iron-willed control over his jaw, he’s sure it would be slack at his own stupidity. Then she gets mad -- madder than mad, even. Enraged, wrathful, vengeful.

She tells him, in her own way, to go fuck himself but that isn’t even all. She _shoves_ him. She brings those fluttering, dainty hands of hers up to his chest and shoves him _hard_.

She’s furious.

She’s gorgeous.

He wants her so fucking much it _burns_.

He takes half a step back then halts as her words register in his mess of a mind. He glances downwards then drags his eyes up the long length of her legs -- she’s short but god, she’s got legs for _days_ \-- then over the lush curve of her hips under her flowing skirt and up over the pert swell of her breasts, up the slender column of her throat and then, finally, meets her eyes with all the rage and fire inside him on full display for her.

“You think I’m _playing_?” he growls. He closes the distance he lost and then some, presses her into the door with the full length of his body against hers and doesn’t even stop to relish the feel. It’s the first time, ever that he’s been so close to her but he’s too angry to think.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” he all but snarls, “No one does but, god damn it, I saw you _first_.”

# 

She feels a surge of satisfaction as he stumbles back, because at last, she has the upper hand, and she pushed him, she shoved him and made him go away - she catches his eyes on her, moving from her legs to her face. Her breath catches despite herself - what is he looking at? Why is he looking at her like that?

If she wasn’t so angry, and if she didn’t hate him so much, she would start crying. It’s not fair, it’s not fair, it’s not fair.

In the back of her mind, something screeches, and she can’t help but think that Bae never looks at her like that. Why does she even want him to? What’s in Peter’s eyes can’t be desire - it’s anger, rage, wrath, a resentment she can’t understand.

What does he have against her? Why did she do to him in a past life  Not that Peter Pan is particularly nice to people in general, but even she knows that he goes out of his way to be horrible to _her_. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want her to have a boyfriend. Maybe he’s afraid that Bae might start defending her, and that he’ll lose his little plaything.

Well, he’s just going to have to find somebody else to torture.

He cages her against the door, and she blushes, half in anger and half in shyness at the sudden intrusion. He’s pressing her up against the door, and the smell of him rips the air from her lungs. He’s practically crushing her with his weight, and their posture is too intimate. They’re too close. She has trouble thinking, and the only emotion she finds herself capable of identifying through the whirlwind of her mind is powerful, consuming, fury.

What he says doesn’t do much to appease her. Once again, she has no idea what he’s even talking about. Why, why, why would he say Bae doesn’t deserve her, why does he care, _why_? Instead of thinking about what he could mean, she scoffs, harshly, something akin to a humorless smile on her lips. She’s painfully aware of his proximity, but her anger fuels, and the words come pouring out, cutting, anything she can do to gain the upper hand.

“ _You saw me first_?” she repeats, her tone aggressive, bitter, mocking, because he _makes_ her cruel, crueler than she would be with anybody else. “Well, I’m sorry that somehow, in that twisted little melon you call a head, you think that your decision to torture me from _the start of high school_ gives you the _fucking_ right to have a say in who I date, but guess what? It doesn’t. I’m not your little doll, and I don’t exist for the sole purpose of _amusing_ you. The fact that you would even _think_ \- oh, you know what? I am not having this conversation. I am not wasting my breath on you. Now get away from me.”

# 

He almost wants to smile when she calls his head a melon. How can she still be so fucking cute when she’s so livid? She doesn’t stay that way for long though. She gets downright mean, all claws and teeth and sharp knives for words.

She’s _glorious_.

He’s so twisted it isn’t funny.

It doesn’t make any sense that he should want this girl. This shy little thing who barely smiled at him from under her lashes the first day. Nothing about what he feels for Wendy makes sense anymore. He’s angry at her but he loves her so much. He hates her for dating Baelfire, wants her all to himself, but he wants her to be happy. Why can’t she be happy with him? Why can’t this just be simple?

If he kissed her right now, would she still push him away?

She probably would but he does it anyway. She tells him to get away from her and all he thinks is, “No.”

Then he brings his hand up to her cheek, tilts her head upward and covers her mouth with his. He isn’t thinking, isn’t trying to make sense of anything anymore. All he knows is that he wants Wendy and he has her for a few stolen seconds right now and he’s kissing her.

Her lips are soft beneath his, full and strawberry-flavoured, and he presses his own hard against them. But there is a reverence in his touch he can’t temper, a tenderness he can’t hide, because he loves her and he’s kissing her and this might just be the only time he ever gets to do it. He flicks out tongue to taste the seam of her lips and beg for entrance.

#

She feels like screaming because all he says is _No_ \- what the hell kind of fucking answer is that? That’s not acceptable at all, no, he can’t just silence her with a word, he has to listen and - oh god, what is he doing now?

He touches her cheek, and her first reaction is to growl so he’ll stop touching her but then, then - _oh_.

No.

This isn’t happening. Alarm bells ring in her head, and her first reaction is to push him away because how dare he try to silence her, how dare he try playing with her mind like this, how dare he kiss her now, at the exact moment where she’s finally managed to pull her aching heart away from his crushing grip? Her hands fly to his shoulders with the intent of pushing him away, the fire his touch is awakening in her fueling her anger instead of anything else, and her fingers twist in the fabric of his shirt…

It happens too fast. It takes her one second to react, another to try to push him away, and his lips are pressing against her with a harshness mixed with gentleness. His lips are full, warm, and his touch burns her - on the cheek, where his hand rests, on her aching mouth - it hurts. It’s a fire that ignites and scorches and oh god, why doesn’t Bae kiss her like this?

His tongue brushes against her lips and before she knows what she’s doing, her hands are pulling him closer, instead of away as a rush of pleasure emerges from the depths of her anger. She doesn’t know if she hates him or if she wants him, and his kiss shoots all coherent thought from her mind - she’s dreaming. This is a nightmare. This is a fantasy. This is everything at once.

She kisses him back, for a few seconds, a flash of pure, raw, almost chaotic fire, and she starts to open her mouth for him, too quick, too easily - it’s only when she feels the flick of his tongue against hers that her eyes shoot open, and her heart clenches in utter, horrified panic.

He can’t be doing this. They can’t be doing this. It’s not even about Bae, although a voice inside her does scream that she has a _boyfriend_ \- it’s about the fact that Peter Pan treats her like dirt, most of the time, and that seconds ago, she was so mad at him she couldn’t breathe.

With a gasp, she pushes him away, whimpering against his mouth. Somehow, though, she’s so stunned, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, that her hands remain tangled in his shirt and, in the wake of whatever the hell just happened, she stares at him, wide-eyed, flushed.

“What…” she mouths, her voice catching in her throat - she’s so bewildered that she forgets to be angry. She can only stare, and her mind is almost blank.

#

She kisses him back, hands on his shoulders fisted in the material and pushing and pulling all at once. He _understands_. God, he understands that seesaw intimately. But she doesn’t ever let him go and that makes him bold, makes him lean his body hard into hers and really _feel_ her.

She fits perfectly in all the places he knew she would. She’s _made_ for him. There’s no way, no way on earth, she comes together with Baelfire like a puzzle piece, like a missing limb. She fits into all his empty spaces and makes him whole.

Then, suddenly, she opens for him and it’s _bliss_. She tastes warm and sweet and he flickers his tongue inside her mouth and is met with the most wonderful feeling in the world: her tongue against his, slick and hot and god, he’s half-hard from just this kiss. She’s dangerous, this girl. More dangerous than anything and Peter was born reckless.

It’s not surprising, really, when she pushes him away. He half expects to be slapped. Her quiet, breathy question isn’t half bad. It’s his own answer that surprises him yet again. It’s like he’s lost control of himself now that she’s gone and started dating someone else. He’s snapped, he’s sure. Still, he tells her:

“I _hate_ you,” and it’s a fierce, low thing ripped from a hoarse throat, “I hate you so much I _love_ you. You _undo_ me, Wendy. You always have.”

#

She looks at him, and she wishes she could read that look in his eyes - maybe if she understood him, she could understand _herself_. Because oh, it’s not like she hasn’t dreamt of this, but she still shouldn’t have kissed him back. She has a boyfriend - she looks at Peter’s intense, burning gaze, and she thinks of Baelfire’s sweet, soft smile, and she suddenly feels so guilty that she could cry.

And then, he growls something that makes her bones tremble - he hates her. She wants to scoff because _yes_ , she knows, she’s perfectly aware that he doesn’t care about her, he’s made that clear most of the time, his rare affections coming in unexpected, fleeting waves, but he keeps talking and - what?

 _What_?

Her hands fall limp at her sides, untwisting from his shirt. Her heart beats so hard that she feels like her ribcage might come apart, and it’s like a wounded animal is whimpering inside of her, because she’s so confused and unsettled that she feels like the smallest draft of wind might send her crumbling to the ground.

He loves her. He just said that he loves her and that he hates her and on a twisted level, she knows how that feels, but it doesn’t make any ounce of sense. He keeps taking her by surprise, destroying the ground she thinks she stands on, and her mind is reeling so much that, once more, her actual thinking process comes up blank.

“What - no,” she says, shaking her head, instinctively refusing to take what she just heard as anything but a fluke. “You - no. Don’t say things like that - Peter, what the hell? What the hell are you trying to _do to me_? Why would you _say_ something like that?”

In the end, her voice half-cracks, because her anger is twisting into despair - he’s dangling the promise of deeper feelings at the worst moment possible and she just can’t even begin to wrap her mind around what she just heard. It’s a lie, it’s a twisted, horrible, cruel lie, _it has to be_. She’s more than angry or hurt - she feels betrayed, because using love as a weapon, as part of a game? That’s low, even for him, and she feels like she drove him there, by responding to that kiss he summoned from hell to damn her with.

#

Her hands fall away from him and though they are no farther apart, it feels like a chasm opens up between them. The chasm’s name is _Boyfriend_.

The first thing she does is deny what he’s said because, really, he can hardly believe he’s said it either. But he has and now...now he has to live with the consequences. Shit, he wasn’t ready for this. He knows he’s going to be rejected. She has a boyfriend she likes, a boyfriend who likes her, kisses her, cherishes her. Why would she trade that for a boy whose love is so intense it verges on hate and manifests solely as cruelty? Why would she give up her Baelfire for _Peter Pan_?

He braces for the words that come out of her mouth but they aren’t totally denials. She doesn’t tell him to leave her alone again (he doubts he has the strength to deny that twice). Instead her disbelief forms questions. And they are questions he can answer.

He looks her in the eye and speaks softly, this time, because these words aren’t meant to be mean, aren’t meant to hurt or bruise _her_. No, these words will cut into him and he’s not good with pain.

“I’m doing to you what you do to me, Darling,” he begins. “Welcome to my world. You drive me _insane_. I want to kiss you so badly it aches and I hate it. I hate that I can’t think about anything but you. I don’t want any other girl but you. I can’t function anymore, Wendy, you’ve _consumed_ me. You’ve done this to me since day one so, for fucking once, have a taste of your own medicine.”

He takes a deep breath and exhales along the skin of her neck. Then he adds in a whisper, “You destroy me and I can’t bear it.”

#

He starts talking again, and everything he says is so raw, so intense that her teenage heart, still fresh, still discovering love, isn’t ready for it at all. From the way he talks, it’s like he resents her, so much, like she’s the guilty party, like she’s the one who’s been torturing _him_ for years. Despite the obvious turmoil in his gaze, she can’t bring herself to feel bad for him - she’s still trying to understand, still trying to slow down the beat of her heart.

She understands one thing, though - he wants her. And from the looks of it, he wants her _badly_.

Oh, how she wishes she didn’t feel a little vindicated at that. Because all this time, she wasn’t alone in suffering. Whatever feelings she buried deep in her heart were mutual, and it looks like his feelings run deep, on a level she has trouble fathoming. And yet, despite the odd, almost painful fluttering of her heart, she’s still angry, confused - a part of her wants to run away from this whole thing, bury herself into Bae’s comforting, unchallenging embrace and pretend it never happened. He sounds so angry with her - and despite the weight of what he says, his tone irks her, and it _hurts_ her.

When he breathes out against her neck, she shivers despite herself, and the tingle on her skin brings her back from her thoughts. This time, she pushes him away firmly, not harshly, because she needs space to breathe, to _think_ , and she looks at him, breathless, halfway between complete ruin and steel.

“I - I don’t get it,” she says, her voice sounding distant to her ears. “I don’t understand. You - Peter, I can’t tell if you _care_ about me or if you hate me. You’re not making sense and you can’t…you can’t say those kind of things _now_ , why would you…”

She stops talking, taking a breath, unable to go on. The ghost of Bae hangs between them, and she half-wants to brush it aside, and cling to it for dear life. It’s that little surge of guilt, of fear, of intense and complete confusion that pushes her to stare at Peter, and to say, her voice hoarse, as composed as she can make it, a little weapon she musters against him at the last second:

“I swear to God, Peter, if this is a game, if you’re trying to mess with my head, I am going to murder you.”

#

When she pushes him away this time, it’s not angry. Just...firm. He gives her the space. Stands back and lets his shoulders fall with the weight of the moment.

He wasn’t ready for this. He didn’t mean for this to happen. He should never have dragged her into this fucking room. He’s doing more damage to himself and his faint, lingering hope of ever… no, he’s never had any hope of that. Not since that time he let her take the fall for that prank he pulled and she almost got suspended. Maybe he never had a chance in the first place? Maybe she’d looked at him with those great big eyes and decided _no, not him_  from the moment they met.

By the time she’s done threatening him, he feels hopeless, worthless, dejected beyond anything he’s ever felt before and he decides to just lay it all out for her. His anger has ebbed and left nothing in it’s place. Not irritation, not elation, nothing but a void. So, what more does he stand to lose?

“It’s not a game,” he tells her flatly. “And it’s both. I love you so much I can’t see straight and I hate that about myself. It’s pathetic, isn’t it? I’ve been a dick to you all these years and -- well, mostly I’ve just wanted to get my dick in you.”

Wow, that is not what he should have said. He backpedals as fast as he can. “Fuck, I didn’t mean it like that. I shouldn’t have said that. I mean--”

He runs shaking hand through his hair again, the other gripping the edge of the table beside him tight, shoulders all squared and posture rigid.  He meets her eyes and looks at her the way he’s always wanted to but never dared. At least not while she could _see_.

“I want you, obviously, but I’m fucking in love you with you too. I love your eyes and your smile and the way you fight me on every fucking thing. I love the steel in your spine and the brown in your hair. And you hate me, I get it. I know you have a boyfriend too but…”

He takes a deep breath and says the last of his piece, dignity long flushed away with his hope. “I never had a snowball’s chance in hell with you, Wendy, but at least now you _know_.”

#

There’s something oddly unsettling about the way his anger seems to fade - she watches him, eyes narrowed, closed off, but on the inside, she’s trembling, completely unhinged by everything he says. Once again, he says he loves her and she almost gasps - when he makes it about sex, she glares at him hard, harsh, heart sinking, until he backtracks and gets his words back on a safer path.

Because oh, from the moment she realized that he wanted her, she was afraid it was just that - lust, desire. Wanting what you can’t have. She couldn’t have taken that. It would have broken her.

She watches him, silent, almost numb, as she notices the way his control seems to slip from him, further and further - his hands are shaking, and he’s holding himself on the table, fidgeting, all nervousness and turmoil.

What can she say to that? What can she say when he tells her that he’s in love with her, when he starts listing the things he loves the way guys do in movies - oh god, she feels like it’s everything she wants, somehow, the passion, the fire, the pain, the unexpected love declaration - but she still has trouble believing that this is real. She doesn’t feel as though she’s thinking straight at all and…

And there’s Baelfire. Her sweet, kind, comfortable Baelfire. He’s the cool breeze of spring, and Peter Pan is a hurricane.

She tries to think about what to say, tries to muster up words of rejection, of anger, of indignation - she tries to tell him that he’s right, he has no chance with her, she’s taken, he missed his chance and he was always a dick to her, he’s hurt her too much, it’s too late - instead, what comes out, as inconsequential as it sounds, sounds like an admission.

“...I don’t hate you.”

 _And you hate me, I get it,_ he said. And despite the fact that yes, sometimes, it feels like she does - she doesn’t. Not really. And as angry as she is at him for telling her all this now, at the worst time, in the worst say, she feels as though he should at least know _that_.

“I don’t hate you, all right?” she repeats, meeting his eyes with more confidence than she feels. “I really don’t.”

As soon as the words are out, she feels like _she said too much._

# 

He doesn’t know what to do with words that come out of her mouth. He doesn’t know if he can take them as good or bad. It would probably be easier, really, if she hated him. Maybe then they could find some sort of real footing. But they _don’t_ hate each other and that’s the hardest thing about this.

The worst part is knowing that there’s more than hate in both of them and they’re both so utterly stupid, they can’t figure out what to do with it.

He wants to say something, wants to maybe, finally, apologize. It seems like a good place to start. He’s got so much to be sorry for and now that she knows…What does he have to lose by treating her the way he wants to rather than the way he thinks he has to?

Can he say sorry? Can he stare at her across the room, lovestruck and longing? Can he offer to carry her books now instead of hiding them? Can he sit beside her in class and touch her hair instead of pulling it? Can he tell her that she looks beautiful now without the sarcasm? Can he show her that loves her and mean it?

The bell rings suddenly and she flees.

He’s not surprised.

And he knows the answer to all his questions: _No, he can’t._

She has a boyfriend and it isn’t _him_. 

* * *

Wendy Darling has been a mess all day. She’s been restless, rattled, turned upside down by that encounter in the Chem Lab. She’s confused, angry, guilty, upset, regretful, everything at once - and she hasn’t breathed a word of it. Not to Tink, her best friend - and not to Bae.

Her _boyfriend._  

The boyfriend who saw her, later that afternoon, and sweetly asked her if she was okay, noticing the look on her face.

She _lied_ and said yes. He kissed her sweetly, and she can’t even explain how utterly wrong it felt to feel his lips on hers, when she had tasted Peter’s lips less than two hours before. She feels like the worst person in the entire world, because a good girlfriend would tell Bae the _truth_. And she wants to, she does - she wants to be honest, she doesn’t want to lie to him, but today, she couldn’t find the energy to get into it. Bae, in all his kind glory, would have asked her how she felt about Peter, and she wouldn’t have been able to answer that question. She doesn’t how to feel, what to _think_. She doesn’t know what to do with herself.

She doesn’t know how to get rid of the tingle Peter Pan’s kiss left on her lips, and of the ache his words left in her heart.

She tries to distract herself. She tries to bury herself in homework, in a book, in front of a movie - but nothing, nothing works. Her mind is reeling, and she feels uneasy, she feels _sick_. Her body is affected as much as her mind and she hates Peter a little, despite what she said, for making her feel like this. It’s like before his confession, she was sailing on a sweet, happy little river, and now, she’s caught in a typhoon. She can’t _think_. Of course, clearer reactions start to form with each minute, as she goes over past events, past interactions, as she replays that kiss and Peter’s confession, but she has all those sudden, overwhelming feelings and she has no idea what to do with them.

And it’s that restlessness that pushes her to text Peter Pan, a little before midnight, as she lies in bed, sleepless. She shouldn’t text him - she shouldn’t, she shouldn’t, but she needs answers. She needs to talk to him. She can’t leave things so…unfinished.

 

[text] okay so i have to ask

[text] why couldn’t you just have been nice to me?

[text] was that so difficult ?

 

Once the texts are sent, she half-hopes he’s asleep, and doesn’t answer.

#

Peter ditches school for the rest of the day. When he’s left staring at the slowly closing regulation fire door, he makes the decision automatically. He falls into the moving throng of students in the halls and follows to the nearest exit. He’s supposed to give Felix a ride this afternoon but he really doesn’t give a fuck. He gets in his car and drives off the lot. He could go anywhere. He goes home.

Killian is out, at work, so he has the house to himself. He digs out the cigarettes he keeps in his sock drawer for days when he really, really can’t take the shit life throws at him. He doesn’t think there’s ever been a better day for them than today.

Three cigarettes later, he still can’t believe what he’s done. Can’t believe he would ever be that stupid.

He tries not to focus on the last thing she said. The last thing he needs is consolation. What he needs is to figure out how to _be over_ Wendy fucking Darling once and for all. He considers calling up Lily or Ariel. He could fuck this away, maybe, fuck someone who looks nothing like Wendy until all he can see is the wrong colour hair and eyes and try to forget.

He’s tried it before. It doesn’t work.

In the end he stares at his ceiling for a good two hours in silence. He gets a text from Felix around three asking where the fuck he is. Peter would feel bad if he wasn’t certain “getting a ride with Tink” was always a double entendre with those two.

He tries his hardest -- absolute hardest to both think and not think for the next few hours. He ignores Killian when the man gets home but that is nothing out of the ordinary. He tries to watch a film, has a shower, does his fucking homework for once. Nothing helps. He’s staring at his computer screen, and _yes_ , maybe there is a picture of Wendy Darling on it - does it even fucking matter at this point? - when his phone vibrates. It’s the last thing he expects.

How did she even get his number?

God, how does he answer. He doesn’t even have the energy to panic. He just…

 

[unsent text] how did you get this number?

[unsent text] yes. it would have killed me if you said no

[unsent text] i don’t know

 

[text] yes it was

[text] idk i was fourteen and stupid

 

**WENDY :**

[text] you didn’t have to be so mean to me peter

[text] stupid is one word for it

 

[unsent text] why now? why would you do this now this is the worst possible time

 

[text] are you still going to be a jerk to me now?

 

[unsent text] are you going to be even worse now oh my god please don’t

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] i know

[unsent text] i don’t want to be. i never wanted to be

[unsent text] god i’m sorry. i’m sorry i’m sorry. give me a chance. half a chance. please

 

[text] tbh idk

[text] you make me stupid

 

[unsent text] you make me crazy how much i love you. fuck

 

**WENDY :**

[text] …oh. i see

 

[unsent text] peter can’t we just be civil at least please

 

[text] well you make me miserable so we’re even

[text] i didn’t mean like that oh my gosh that was harsh

[text] i just mean that

[text] when you’re mean to me it hurts and i wish you’d stop

 

[unsent text] how can you be in love with me if you won’t even apologize for making me cry every week

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] same. misery loves company

 

[text] i didn’t mean it like that

 

[unsent text] god don’t be like that. don’t be nice. don’t be cute

[unsent text] if i stopped would you love me?

 

[text] i meant you make it hard for me think

[text] i could try

[text] for you i would try

 

[unsent text] for you i would do anything

 

[text] would that be ok?

 

**WENDY :**

[unsent text] i already liked you when you were a jerk what the hell am i going to do if you start being nice this is a terrible idea

 

[text] yes. i’d appreciate it

[text] i meant what i said earlier okay i don’t hate you

[text] i’m sorry if i make things difficult for you i don’t mean to

 

[unsent text] why am i apologizing why am i even texting you

 

**PETER:**

[text] ok

 

[unsent text] it would be easier if you did

[unsent text] hate me so i can stop loving you this much please fml

[unsent text] HA

 

[text] i know. you never did but you always do.

[text] fuck. i’m sorry too. for everything.

 

**WENDY :**

[unsent text] oh my god oh my god

[unsent text to Bae] are you awake?

 

[text] thank you

[text] i should go to bed

 

[unsent text] if i keep talking to you you might say some more things and i just can’t i have a boyfriend oh god

 

[text] i’ll see you at school tomorrow?

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah ok

[text] g’night bird

 

[unsent text] i love you

[unsent text to ariel] hey, wanna fuck?

 

[text to felix] you home yet?

* * *

**PETER:**

He’s sitting in study hall with his headphones in and a math book opened on his desk for appearances’ sake. His concentration is focused on the back of the head of blonde curls two seats up and one over. He wants her to look at him. He feels like the whole day has gone by and all they’ve done is avoid each other. It’s driving him crazy. 

He’s on edge, he’s tense, her boyfriend isn’t in this class. Fuck it. He gets out his phone.

 

[unsent text] you look nice today

[unsent text] fuck you always look hot

[unsent text] you make me so fucking stupid jfc

 

[text] you look bored

 

**WENDY:**

She tenses when she feels her phone buzzing in her pocket. And just like that, she already knows it’s him. They’ve been avoiding each other all day, and it’s made her restless, it’s almost worse than the constant bickering. Her shoulders tense a little, and she doesn’t dare looking at him. However, she hides her phone behind her book, and texts back, heart beating a little faster than it should.

 

[text] a little. economics and i don’t mix

[text] i should have brought my book. i started reading this great novel last night and it’s all i can think about

[text] i’m sorry you probably don’t care

[text] how’s math treating you?

 

Because yes - she knows he’s studying math. She glanced at him, earlier, while he wasn’t looking, and she noticed the book.

 

**PETER:**

[text] econ fucking sucks

[text] math is boring as shit

 

[unsent text] no tell me

[unsent text] tell me everything. talk to me. let me in

[unsent text] turn around

[unsent text] look at me please

 

[text] i care. tell me about it

 

[unsent text] god cover your shoulder up woman fuck. i want to bite it. fuck.

 

**WENDY :**

[text] do you ever go a full sentence without swearing?

 

[unsent text] considering that it’s a love story i don’t think you want to read all about it

[unsent text] i didn’t tell bae about yesterday does that make me a horrible person

 

[text] if i tell you all about it it will make me want to read the rest too much

[text] and i left it in my locker

[text] you know i’m pretty sure everyone can tell you’re not studying you’re not even looking at your book peter pan

[text] there’s such a thing as subtlety see

[text] see how i hide my phone? there’s an art to this

 

[unsent text] what am I doing

[unsent text] god i think I’m trying to be your friend is this a bad idea?

 

**PETER:**

[text] fuck no ;)

 

[unsent text] tell me something else. anything else

[unsent text] FUCK bird don’t fucking do that

[unsent text] do that again. look at me like that. god i want photograph you like that; eyes over your shoulder, back bare then i’d

[unsent text] i don’t want to be your fucking friend. let me kiss you, touch you, fuck you. please. let me make love to you

 

[text] why bother? no one gives a shit

[text] your hair looks good today

[text] it keeps distracting me

[text] *picture attachment*

 

[unsent text] not that this is new

 

**WENDY :**

[unsent text] you took a picture of my hair? what what what why

[unsent text] peter oh my god friends don’t take pictures of each other’s hair

[unsent text] actually tink and i do but i also didn’t make out with tink oh god

 

[text] sorry?

[text] i can’t help it the darlings are a good hair family it is known

[text] one might say it’s a little peculiar to take pictures of other people’s hair peter

[text] there i changed it is that less distracting?

 

[text to bae] so i know you’re in gym class so your phone is in your locker but i just wanted to say hey :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] is it? didn’t know

 

[unsent text] what are you doing?

[unsent text] don’t don’t fucking

[unsent text] oh my god woman you’re killing me

[unsent text] fuck you’re perfect

[unsent text] i wanna kiss your neck, let me. let me worship you, fucking goddess

 

[text] no

[text] you’re a fucking tease darling

[text] god you’re gorgeous

[text] shit i didn’t mean to send that

[text] but you are

[text] fuck i told you you make me stupid

 

[unsent text] felix how much trouble do you get into for kissing a girl in the middle of class?

 

**WENDY :**

[text] all I did was put my hair up in a ponytail how does that make me a

 

[unsent text] oh my god no no no no don’t

[unsent text] you said gorgeous

[unsent text] nobody’s ever said that about me ever

 

[text] oh. thank you?

[text] i’m sorry i didn’t mean to… idk?

[text] it’s okay forget about it

[text] am I making things worse by talking to you because I can stop

 

[unsent text] i don’t want to stop but i don’t know what i’m doing

 

[unsent text] i feel like i’m cheating on my boyfriend and this is just texting i am a horrible person

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] everything about you is a tease

[unsent text] i can look but not touch and it’s torture

[unsent text] i want to touch you so much it hurts

 

[text] don’t stop

[text] please

 

[unsent text] fuck i’m begging

[unsent text] i’m begging you wendy don’t push me away

 

**WENDY :**

[text] okay if you’re sure

[text] but i feel like

 

[unsent text] i feel like i’m doing something wrong and i feel like i’m hurting you and 24 hours ago i wasn’t even sure you cared

[unsent text] you make me want to cry even when you’re being nice

 

[text] never mind

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’m sure

 

[unsent text] tell me what you feel. i want to know every

 

The bell rings suddenly signaling the end of the day and cutting his text in half. Peter doesn’t want to stop. He doesn’t have to -- it’s text --  but it feels like a bubble has popped around them. He slams his math book shut -- watches out of the corner of his eye as Wendy scrambles to make sense of her belongings. He glances down at his phone and decides to end this on his terms. It’s been... _different_.

 

[text] see you in english

* * *

**WENDY:**

She’s fully aware that she shouldn’t be texting Peter Pan on a sunday afternoon, especially since she invoked the homework excuse not to see her boyfriend. Yes, she’s been avoiding Bae, but she can’t help it - and luckily, Bae is busy with a family thing, to his absolute pleasure, and he didn’t really have time to see Wendy anyway. Which works for her. Because she’s still sick with guilt, and god, she wishes he’d be her best friend again, just so she could confide in him. 

It’s not that she doesn’t like Bae - she really, really, really does but…

Peter has her completely confused, and she wishes she could just not think about the fact that _he’s in love with her._

But even knowing that, Wendy still feels stuck, because he’s Peter Pan - if she were to reciprocate, openly, what would he even do? He doesn’t do girlfriends. He never has. What does love even mean to him? Do they have the same definition of the term? Would he just carry on with her privately and then ignore her in public? What’s Peter Pan like, in an actual relationship? She can’t even fathom it. Even if she were, hypothetically, to leave Bae and try something with Peter, there’s a good chance he would break her heart, right? He can’t actually want her as his _girlfriend_. The idea is laughable.

Bae is sweet and caring and amazing. Wendy knows it. She thinks it with all her heart. He’s everything a girl should want.

God, she misses her friend.

She’s lying on her bed, a book half-opened on her stomach, and her phone in her hands. And she’s texting Peter, without really knowing _why_.  

 

[text] so you know that novel I told you about?

[text] I finished it and I cried

 

**PETER:**

Sunday afternoon and Peter Pan is playing video games like every other bored teenager on a slow weekend. But honestly, he’s bored out of his mind with this Skyrim profile, fed up with fucking draugurs popping out of every dark corner to take up his time and the quest he’s on is literally going nowhere. He’s just about to fast-travel back to Whiterun just to get the fuck out of there when his phone buzzes.

_Wendy. Okay, wow._

Yeah, of course he remembers the novel. some lovestory she didn’t want to get into. They haven’t really talked since. Haven’t interacted much at all because he’s trying to be nice and the only way he can do that is to keep his temper in check. Watching that floppy-haired fuck draped all over her 24/7 only pisses him off so yeah, he’s been quiet.

So now she’s in tears. Now what?

 

[text] yeah. you never told me the story

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i am upset in the best way it was beautiful

[text] it’s too complicated to explain it but you should read it

[text]it’s called four letters of love by niall williams

[text] do you even read for fun? i feel like i don’t know that

 

[unsent text] why do i find it so easy to text you we hated each other a week ago

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] you’re so fucking cute

 

[text] never heard of it. i’ll look it up

[text] yeah sometimes

 

[unsent text] what are doing, bird? are we really playing this game now?

 

**WENDY :**

[text] what kind of books do you read?

[text] do you like Harry Potter?

[text] have you read the His Dark Materials trilogy because I love that one

[text]I’m sorry you’re probably busy I just wanted to say hi

 

[unsent text] what am i doing why am i texting you about books why am i even texting you

 

**PETER:**

[text] hi

 

[unsent text] how are you so adorable

[unsent text] we should have done this friendship thing earlier

[unsent text] you’re amazing

 

[text] yes and yes

[text] i like adventure. not stevenson tho.

 

[unsent text] what is this bird don’t string me along

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] what’s your favorite hp ship?

[unsent text] oh my god I can’t believe I almost sent you that what is wrong with me

 

[text] i figured you’d like adventure books

[text] i write adventure stories sometimes

 

[unsent text] oh my gosh why am I telling you

 

[text] you don’t have to text me back if you’re busy you know

[text] i’m just bored

[text] i mean i’m not texting you because i have nothing better to do

[text] i don’t know why i’m texting you but the other day you asked me not to stop talking to you so there we are talking

 

[unsent text to Tink] help

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] you thought about me?

[unsent text] wow, that was pathetic

[unsent text] let me read them

 

[text] you do?

[text] i could proofread them for you

[text] if you want

 

[unsent text] hello i am peter pan, fucking nerd

[unsent text] yes, your boyfriend is more manly. your teddy bear is more manly

[unsent text] fml

 

[text] no prob. i’m not busy

[text] keep talking

 

[unsent text] never stop

[unsent text] i don’t care if you’re bored or not. text me when you think of me. at least you think about me

 

**WENDY:**

 

[text] you’d do that?

[text] I’m really shy about my writing though but maybe sometime

[text] that’s really nice of you to offer

 

[unsent text] help who are you what have you done with peter pan

[unsent text] you are being sweet to me I can’t deal if you’re sweet now what the hell am I supposed to feel

 

[text] i’m glad i’m not botheri

[text]OMG

[text] THERESAHUGE SPIDER ON MY CEILING

[text] OH GOD I WANT TO KILL IT BUT WHAT IF IT’S GOT BABIES what if it’s a mommy spider

[text] HANG ON

[text] oh my god I captured it with a piece of paper and released it into the wild

[text] I am a friend of all animals

[text] BUT SPIDERS OMG I’m shaking

[text] i probably didn’t need to text you all this did I?

 

**PETER:**

[text] sure

 

[unsent text] show me all of you

 

[text] what

 

[unsent text] don’t fucking do that i thought something was wrong with you

[unsent text] i love you, you dork

 

[text] lmao

[text] lemme call the nobel committee for your peace prize

[text] no but it’s an interesting change

 

[unsent text] you’re interesting

[unsent text] this is a good change

[unsent text] if you didn’t have a boyfriend, could this work?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i’ll be sure to invite you to the reception ceremony for my nobel prize

[text] yes i think so too

[text] its nice to talk to you when you’re not being a dick  no offense

[text] well actually a little offense

 

[unsent text to Tink] tink if i tell what i’m doing you are going to think i’m insane

[unsent text to bae] i don’t deserve you i am the worst girlfriend and the worst friend in the world

 

[text] *sends picture attachment*

[text] i felt like you should see a picture of my dog

[text] that’s nana and she likes sleeping on my bedroom floor except she’s not allowed to but when my dad isn’t here I just let her do it

 

[unsent text] it’s so nice to talk to you why why why whats wrong with me

[unsent text] are you really in love with me or did i dream that part

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’ll check my mailbox

[text] intended offense noted

 

[unsent text] you’re so cute

[unsent text] i’m never getting over you

[unsent text] this is almost worse than hating you

 

[text] didn’t know you have a dog

[text] she’s cute

 

[unsent text] what else do you allow when your dad isn’t home?

 

[text] you break rules? i’m shocked

 

[unsent text] god don’t tempt me. please don’t tempt me.

 

**WENDY:**

[text] isn’t she?

 

[unsent text] i didn’t know the word cute was in your vocabulary are you the same person ?

[unsent text] why couldn’t have been like this before

 

[text] don’t tell anyone. you’ll tarnish my reputation

[text] i need to seem innocent and harmless so i can take over the world and nobody will see me coming

[text] if you keep playing nice i’ll give you a whole country

[text] how do you feel about sweden

 

[text to tink] tink are you home can i call you please

[text to tink] or just come over let’s have a girl’s night or something

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] not as cute as you

 

[text] you’ll owe me for keeping your secret

 

[unsent text] pay me in kisses

[unsent text] god please i wanna see you come fuck no

[unsent text] too far from you

 

[text] too cold

[text] which country would you choose?

 

[unsent text] gimme the ones around it

[unsent text to felix] wtf am i doing

 

**WENDY:**

[text] I don’t know. probably England as cliche as it sounds

[text] and hey you know you can’t complain about the country I give you I’m going to be queen of the world

[text] you don’t get to choose the country i give you honestly peter pan don’t you understand how world ruling works

[text] but i could give you an island or something like Hawaii

[text] but this time if you complain you’ll just be one of the slaves

 

[unsent text] god that sounded sexual oh my gosh i didn’t mean it that way i didn’t mean a sex slave

[unsent text] well

[unsent text] okay this conversation needs to end now

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] pick an island just to torment me

[unsent text] sometimes i don’t believe you don’t know what you do to me

 

[text] ok fine hawaii my queen

 

[unsent text] shit shit shit

[unsent text] shit you can’t

 

[text] you want me to dress in drag and sing britney spears?

[text] i don’t think so

 

[unsent text] you could play with my snake

[unsent text] wtf

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] you called me your queen but don’t

 

[text] omg wtf yes

[text] i’m sorry but if the queen commands it you’re going to dress up and dance for her ok

 

[unsent text] no no no what am i doing no

 

[text] maybe i’ll have you be a jester since you seem to think you’re funny all the time

[text] i’m going to go soon i’m going to tink’s house

[text] and when i text people instead of talking to her she takes my phone and hides it in the garden

 

[unsent text] because i need to get my mind off things and its your fault but this time it’s mine oh my gosh

[unsent text] what is wrong with me this is going to blow up in my face i am a monster

 

**PETER:**

[text] #i’mhereallweek

 

[unsent text] don’t go

[unsent text] actually go. i can’t take this much longer

 

[text] tink is scary as fuck when she wants to be

[text] you’re brave

[text] not as brave as felix but close

[text] see you tomorrow

 

[unsent text] god i think i  love you more now

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh my god you are so cute omg no stop

 

[text] have a nice evening! :)

* * *

**WENDY:**  

Wendy’s in the library, during lunch - yes, she does that sometimes. Every once in a while, she disappears and finds shelter in the library after eating a quick bite, and she hides with the books and her thoughts. She’s had an eventful week, if eventful is even the world for this roller coaster she’s been on since Peter Pan went from tormenter to forlorn lover to sort of friend, and she’s had trouble gathering her thoughts. She hides in a corner, sitting at a table near the shelves, but this time, if she needs to think, it’s not because of Peter, or because of Bae. It’s something else.

And yet, in the midst of her inner agitation, it’s Peter that she thinks of texting. She does it with a swelling heart, and the knowledge that she definitely shouldn’t be texting him - but she still does, out of something that can’t be called anything but pure _need_.

 

[text] so i know we’ve been trying this friendship thing for a week at most but

[text] are we at the point where i can ask you for a favor?

 

**PETER:**

It’s been a slow day, full of empty time and thoughts of Wendy. Peter finds himself lounging lazily up on the highest level of the bleachers in the gym watching people fuck around on the basketball court. The guys have asked him for a game but he isn’t in the mood. Felix steps in though and Tink cheers quietly from behind her sketch pad down at floor level. Peter almost rolls his eyes. Those two are so obvious he doesn't know why they pretend they aren’t in love.

They have no idea how lucky they are.

Fuck, he sounds like a sap.

His eyes trail to his phone for the millionth time that hour and he unlocks the screen yet again. He wants to text her. He wants to have some kind of contact with her. He needs it like air now that he’s had a taste of it. He wants her to think about him, if only for a few brief moments. Does she think about him the way he thinks about her? He doubts it. She’s got blissfully unaware Baelfire on her arm and him panting at her heels. She could probably be fucking queen of the world.

His phone vibrates in his hand and he glances down expecting nothing and getting...Wendy. He bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling like a dunce. Her message is intriguing.

 

[text] i’m listening

 

**WENDY:**

[text] okay so there’s this writing contest a teacher mentioned and i want to try but i haven’t told anyone i want to do it because

[text] people are either going to tell me to do it or tell me not to and i don’t want to hear it either way i want to decide myself but

[text] you said you might want to read some things so i was wondering if the offer still stood?

[text] feel free to say no it’s okay

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah i heard about that

[text] sure i will if you want me to

 

[unsent text] i missed you

[unsent text] can i see you?

[unsent text] fuck wendy i need you

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh my god thank you so much peter seriously

[text] that’s so sweet thank you

[text] i could send you a doc via email or give you a paper version i have one with me

[text] thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you

 

**PETER:**

[text] chill out. you’re welcome

[text] paper is fine. where are you?

[text] i can find you before our next class

 

[unsent text] thank you for putting me out of my misery

[unsent text] you’re a fucking angel and no one deserves you

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] yes I want to see you

 

[text] I’m at the library if you want

 

[unsent text] you’re aware that we haven’t talked face to face since

 

[text] i can wait for you outside the doors

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah ok

[text] be there in five

 

[unsent text] don’t blame me if i try to kiss you again ok?

 

It takes him four minutes to make it from the gym to the library doors. The near-sprinting probably helps. When he skids to a stop at the end of the hallway with the library, Wendy is just walking through them in a halo of golden light. God, she’s beautiful.

He takes a moment to catch his breath, runs a hand through his hair and pushes up the sleeves of his henley. They make eye contact long before he crosses the distance between them and it holds, like something magnetic pulling them closer. Turn them the wrong way though and they repel just as hard. Huh, guess Physics did make sense.

He stops a few steps away from her, unwilling to repeat what happened last time he got close. Oh, he’s dying to kiss her again but…she asked him to be _nice_ and he will be. But dear god, that outfit looks great on her.

“Hey,” he says as casually as he can. His voice is a shade too low though. Damn it, he tried.

# 

She’s clutching a folder in her hand, and inside are the precious pages of her story - her heart is pounding even before she sees him for a number of reasons. One, she’s about to see him again, face to face, in an empty hallway, and she has no idea how they’ll actually remain civil face to face. Texting was one thing, but an actual conversation is daunting. Two, she’s about to let him read her writing, and very few people have had the privilege. It’s almost embarrassing that she’d ask him, given how shy she usually is about it.

There’s something wrong with her. She isn’t supposed to want to talk to him so much, not when she knows he has feelings for her, not when she has a boyfriend, not when up until a week ago, he was so horrible to her that he made her insides twist and churn…

When she sees him, her breath catches - he’s handsome, and she hates herself.

Why does the shirt have to hug his shoulders like that?

Why doesn’t she notice the way Bae’s clothes hang over his body? She should notice those things. It’s not normal.

Still, she keeps her composure, and she manages a smile, even if Peter’s low, deep voice makes her want to shudder.

“Hi,” she says with a smile. “Thank you again, Peter. That’s really nice of you.”

This is awkward. They’ve never really done the civil thing. They’ve had their moments, of course, but nothing like this. To brush off the unease, she clears her throat and bites her lip, looking down at her little green folder, trying to decide which story to give him to read. She ruffles through the pages nervously, trying not to blush - her eyes widen a bit as she furiously pushes back one of the pages to the bottom of the pile. No, oh my god, not this one. There is an _erotic_ scene in there and nobody can ever, _ever_ read it, ever, especially not him. Her fingers close around a little pile of paper, stapled together, and she looks up at Peter.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asks. “I just want someone to read it through so I don’t feel like I’m throwing myself off of a cliff.”

Oh god, she is way too nervous. She has trouble looking at him in the eyes - it’s like looking at a direct source of light.

# 

He shrugs when she thanks him again. “It’s not a problem,” he insists again quietly, as gently as he can. He briefly watches her ruffle through her papers, hand fluttering like bird’s wings -- that’s why, right there, that’s why he calls her ‘Bird’. He remembers the second week of freshman year she wore a t-shirt with a kiskadee on it and talked with her hands all through English class.

Then his gaze is drawn back to her face, to the plump redness of her lips caught between her pearly white teeth. He wants to kiss her so much it hurts. He doesn’t care if she has a boyfriend.

She hands him a stapled packet of papers. He glances at it briefly, all perfectly justified and double-spaced, and doesn’t even try to read it. These are Wendy’s words that, if he’s not mistaken, she rarely shares with anyone.  Whatever he’s done to earn the honour, he knows not, but he will savour the experience nonetheless. He rolls it up and sticks it in the back pocket of his jeans.

“Really,” he tells her low and soft, “I don’t mind. I won’t let you crash and burn.”

And there it goes again. He honestly has no control over himself around her. He clamps his jaw shut before he professes his love all over again.

#

Oh, his voice sounds so gentle, so different - he’s only talked to her like that a handful of times, over the years, and it has always made her hope, always made her heart race. Why now, _why now_? Why couldn’t he have woken up and just talked to her _a month ago_ , before she started seeing Bae as more than just a friend?

This isn’t _fair_.

She glances up at him as he takes the papers she’s handed him - she feels a little unsettled. It’s like giving away a child, albeit to a lesser extent. She feels restless, and she almost wants to snatch them back, but Peter tells her in a soft, gentle voice, that he won’t let her crash and burn, and her breath catches so obviously that there’s no way he missed that.

She’s going to hell. She is the worst girlfriend in the world.

“Thank you,” she says, trying to pretend like his gentleness isn’t turning her into a puddle.  

She averts her eyes and takes a deep breath - _breathe, Wendy, breathe. Peter is your friend, apparently, and you have a boyfriend. A great boyfriend, who you really, really care about._

“How have you been?” she asks, more to break the silence than anything.

That’s what friends do, right? Make conversation. Talk. Smile.

Friends are comfortable with each other, and this, right there, is the opposite of ease. It’s nerve-wracking.

#

Her breath catches and his eyes shoot back up to her face. He doesn't even register her words because she’s affected by this. Maybe not as much as he is but, god, this is the most hope he’s felt in ... _ever_. And all it takes is a little effort to not be a dick.

He can do this. He can be nice. He can be sweet. Fuck, he can be anything she wants him to be if he can be hers.

“Good,” he replies to her pleasantry. _This isn’t awkward at all_. Ha! His eyes catch on pale skin of her neck and he hears himself say, as though in a daze, “Been thinking about you a lot.”

_Shit._

“I mean--,” he starts but then realizes he doesn’t need to backpedal like a fool anymore. She _knows_. She knows he’s in love with her. So he meets her eyes squarely and says, “I’ve missed you.”

#

She smiles a little when she says he’s been good, because she can tell that he’s trying - how telling is it that she knows, even if he’s been her enemy more than her friend for so long? Despite everything, she _knows_ him. She doesn’t know how, but she does.

His next words wipe the smile off her face, because he’s going _there_. Her heart beats wildly and her whole chest seems to clench, her ribcage crushing the beating organ hidden in the bones. Her lips part a little in surprise, she never expected him to say that - to be honest, she was half sure he wouldn’t ever bring it up again, and she stares at him, wide-eyed. She blushes, cheeks flushing and throat closing up, and she fumbles for an answer. He’s taken her completely, utterly by surprise. How does he keep doing that? She keeps trying to find solid ground, with him, and he doesn’t let her - he keeps making the earth tremble underneath her feet, he turns her around, he keeps her on edge.

“...Oh.”

Once the word is out, she curses herself - how much sillier could she sound? There she is, gaping like a fish out of water, because Peter Pan thought about her, and Peter Pan missed her. She shouldn’t react like this - he professed his love a week ago, didn’t he? But the whole thing happened so fast that it remained like half a dream in her mind, but this…this is real. This doesn’t leave her dazed - it rushes through her like an arrow.

What is she supposed to say to _that_? _I thought about you too? I missed you?_ As awfully true as those things are, she can’t say it - _think about Bae, think about Bae, think about Bae_...

“I…I’m glad to see you, too,” she says as carefully as she can, meeting his eyes, forcing herself not to get lost in them.

# 

She’s so pretty, so pretty. And as much as he has known her for years, he feels like in three conversations, he’s gotten to see her differently and he likes that too. He likes all of her, every little bit of her he uncovers, and he’s certain this will only ever happen to him with this girl.

Wendy Darling is his special snowflake. That doesn’t even make sense. Jesus.

He doesn’t know what response he was expecting. There was no way she was going to reciprocate the sentiment so her little admission of gladness is more than enough. He shrugs a little, as if to say ‘ _what can you do?’_ , and gives her a sheepish kind of smile. He’s not ashamed of how he feels, just utterly frustrated by everything that seems to stand in the way of them.

“We’re in Calc together next, right?” he asks as the hallway begins to fill at one end. He doesn’t know what possesses him to ask like a middle schooler but he goes for it anyway. “Lemme walk you to class?”

# 

At least, he doesn’t say anymore - thank god. She couldn’t have taken it. She smiles a little at his sheepish grin because god, that’s _cute._

Why is it cute ? Why, why, why ?

At his question, she nods with a smile, because that’s actually a really nice thing to ask. “Sure”, she says. “If you want - I just have to get my things, they’re still inside.” She gestures towards the door, and she catches a glimpse of Peter’s nod - she makes her way back inside the library, as she suddenly ponders the idea that someone might see him walking with her to class, and think that’s odd and _oh my god,_ what if they run into Bae?

Bae is hardly the jealous type, but he’s not fond of Peter Pan in the slightest. He’s been on the receiving end of too many late night phone calls during which he had to listen to Wendy blubbering on the phone, and if he sees them together, he might either get protective and assume Peter is being a dick, or wonder what happened to make them act civil all of a sudden. And this will raise questions Wendy isn’t prepared to answer yet.

She makes her way back to her table, in the corner, behind a few shelves - Peter follows her, but she’s too preoccupied to really notice. Suddenly, her nervousness is back, and she tries to breathe as she turns her back to Peter, sticking her folder back into school bag. She’s fumbling, and she hits her knuckles on the edge of the table as she’s closing her bag - she curses under her breath, rolling her eyes at herself, shaking off her hand a little. What a ditz.

“Ouch,” she mutters to herself.

# 

She nods her assent and he breathes deeply. He isn’t good with rejection of any kind, he knows this. But he would have nodded and left, and sulked all day and that would never have been a good look for him. Not with her story resting heavy in his pocket.

When she turns back to the library, he follows just to stay in her presence. He could wait at the doors but he rarely gets time with Wendy alone and, honestly, he has missed her. So he follows the unintentional sway of her hips all the way into the most secluded part of the library. One of his eyebrows shoots up on its own. If he had known the library had these nooks and crannies…

Wendy stops at a table laid out with a few books and her signature blue satchel. She starts packing her things, intently focused on the task, and he is content to watch her hands move and her brow crease. He knows she’s avoiding his eyes. It’s shy and alluring all at once. God, he really has it bad. He always knew before but now it’s just glaring.

Then there’s a sharp knock, the sound of bone colliding with wood, and Wendy lets out a pained little exclamation, fingers shaking wildly. Well, that definitely won’t help.

Peter doesn’t think about it, again, and maybe he should start but, he reaches out and takes her hurt hand in his. Her hands are soft and delicate little things, nails well manicured, and knuckles mostly unbruised save for the long line of angry red blooming across the back of three. He meets her wide eyes for a moment. She looks startled but not scared and her hand stays warm and limp in his grasp. It’s enough for him.

He looks down then raises her hand to his mouth and blows warm air across the bruise. And, because her skin is right there, he doesn’t stop himself from tilting her hand and pressing his lips against the softness of her flesh. It’s not the kiss he wants to give her though. No, that kiss hangs in the corner of her mouth, taunting him with the memories of the Chem Lab. He moves his lips gently against her skin and she shudders, a sound escaping her that he simply can’t resist.

In a flash, he has tugged on her hand and pulled her body against his. His other arm goes around her waist and he leans down.

“Let me kiss you,” he begs softly, lips barely rasping against hers but causing fire along his nerves nonetheless. “Please, Bird. I _need_ to kiss you.”

# 

Oh, _no_.

Once he takes her hand in his, she knows she’s a goner. She’s too stunned, too febrile to pull away, and she’s mesmerized by him - by the gentleness he uses to take a hold of her hand, bringing it to his mouth. Every word of protest dies on her lips, and she shivers when he starts blowing on her skin, warming up the bruise starting to form.

She could just _whimper_ , because he can’t do that - no, no, no, no, she can’t let him be so close and - oh my god he is kissing her hand. He’s kissing her hand like he’s worshipping it. It’s magnetizing, and she forgets to breathe, a gasp strangling her breath in her throat.

_Baelfire. Think about Baelfire._

Suddenly, his arm is around her waist, and she’s pressed up against him - he smells good, and his body is warm, and her heart is beating so hard that he can probably feel it through his ribcage. She makes a noise close to a soft whine when his lips brush against her, not quite touching them, but enough for her to feel them - oh god, no, no, no, _no_. She isn’t that girl - she’s not the girl to kiss other boys while her boyfriend is probably happily eating lunch with his friends. She feels like crying. She wants him to stop. She wants herself to want him to stop.

_Please, Bird, I need to kiss you._

Her eyes are almost desperate, pleading, because this is all his fault for being so sweet and passionate and impossible to resist, because she’s pretty sure that she needs him to kiss her, too. Much like it did in the Chem Lab, her mind suddenly goes completely _blank_. All she feels is the irresistible pull of Peter Pan’s lips, like a magnet, hovering dangerously over her mouth, and her body fits against his, and thoughts disappear, blown away by _want_.

She feels herself nod. She doesn’t even realize she’s doing it when her head moves, almost imperceptibly, and her eyes flutter shut when his lips press against hers.

# 

He almost misses it how slightly she nods but she nods and his heart roars in triumph. It’s not even triumph over anybody or anything else. It is the pure, ecstatic joy of gaining something so long sought. All his longing converges on him at once and his lips press hard and desperate against hers.

Her lips are as full as he remembers them to be and this time…this time they open for him almost immediately. God, he loves it when girls open for him and Wendy Darling parts her lips for him like a rose in bloom. She tastes of chocolate and cinnamon and bliss.  He licks his way inside her mouth, his tongue surging to meet hers. When she responds, he wraps his arms around her perfect little frame and hauls her completely into him.

She fits exactly where he needs her to, filling all his empty spaces with Wendy, and he moans a little. Then, suddenly, she shifts against him and her hips brush his. He strangles his groan with his teeth on her lips. He can’t be interrupted now. No soggy old librarian is taking this away from him. He opens his eyes, briefly, and spies a dark corner that is more hidden than anything. He tightens his grip on her hips and walks them backward until she’s pressed against the shelves.

They break apart for a moment, both utterly breathless, and she is gorgeous. Hair mussed and lips swollen red from the force of his kiss, she’s the most beautiful he’s ever seen her. Her eyes flutter open and she tilts her head up to meet his gaze. His eyes are drawn to the long , slender line of her neck before he drags them back to her wide, dark eyes.

“You undo me,” he confesses again in the face of her disbelief. It is abrupt, artless and totally genuine. “You’re so fucking perfect, Bird.”

Then he leans in and presses his lips to the hinge of her jaw.

# 

He’s kissing her, he’s kissing her, _again_ , and she’s letting him because her body responds to his touch more than her mind ever could. Her heart isn’t even in question, although it’s pounding, but her nerves are on fire, and she opens her mouth for him. _God_ , his lips are on hers and his tongue is in her mouth, and it’s everything she let herself dream of in the dark of night, while she was trying not to make too much noise under the covers so her brothers in the next room couldn’t hear.

Making out in the library, with Peter Pan. It’s a fantasy come true. She doesn’t even pause to think about her boyfriend - it’s like he’s completely gone from her mind. Everything is gone. There’s only Peter, and she finds herself _wanting_ him, in a way that’s probably much too raw and too intense for a simple kiss.

He pushes her against the shelves, and his lips leave hers for a moment - she can barely hear what he’s saying. Her blood pumps through her veins, and she longs to have his mouth back against hers, _now_. The compliment, as sweet as it is, barely registers - his lips fall on her jaw, and she feels like she’s going to explode.

Her fingers tangle in his hair, and she pulls him closer instinctively. His lips trace the line of her jaw, and the little gasp that escapes her only seems to egg him on. Her eyes fall shut, and her head almost bangs against the shelves as she leans back. She feels his mouth everywhere - on her jaw, on her neck, on her ear, and it’s creating an ache between her thighs, one that she’s come, somehow, to associate with him. God, she _wants_ him - she could just…

She cups his face with her hands and brings his head up to crash her mouth against his. This kiss, she initiates, and it’s a desperate, almost bruising one. She kisses him like she’s trying to suffocate them both, like she’s trying to taste him as much as she can, like she’s trying to hold on to what’s left of the passion that shields her from guilt. She nips at his lips, and she whimpers softly because she needs more, but she can’t - she _can’t_.

She pulls away like cold water has been poured over her. _Baelfire_. Oh god. _No_. No, no, no, no, no...

_What has she done?_

She has no excuses. She let him kiss her. She kissed back, more than a little, and she wanted him, she kissed him _back_ , she’s horrible, she cheated on her boyfriend, her best friend, with a guy who’s in love with _her._ She brings a hand to her mouth, her eyes betraying her utter horror at herself. She’s going to hurt them both. She should know better - what the hell is wrong with her?

The look she gives Peter is a wounded, desperate one - but she doesn’t blame him at all. She blames herself - she is an awful, awful person.

“Oh god,” she whimpers, scrambling to pull herself away from Peter’s embrace, her shoulders shaking, her heart pounding so hard she feels nauseous. “Oh god - oh god. I - I should go.” She’d cry if she wasn’t feeling so sick, all of a sudden. She meets Peter’s eyes for a moment - oh god, she needs a hug. She needs Tink, she needs her mother, she needs Bae (her friend, not the boyfriend) - she needs to go back in time to when she still had a brain between her ears.

#

Her hands tangle in his hair and it is heaven. It’s so much more than just her kissing him back or letting him kiss her now because, that, right there, is active participation. She’s into this and his heart soars. Her skin tastes better than he ever imagined; sweet silk under his tongue and teeth.

There’s a part of his brain that reminds him, quietly, almost snidely, not to mark her. To restrain himself because she has a boyfriend. With a low growl, he presses a harder kiss to underside of her jaw and trails his lips down her neck. Her head falls back in abandon and it feels like victory. _Take that, Boyfriend_

Then her hands come down to his jaw and he freezes for a millisecond, terrified that she’s remembered Baelfire as much as he has. But she hasn’t stopped him for that – _Oh Jesus, God is real._ She crashes her mouth to his and kisses him with so much passion and heat and feeling he can’t do anything but let her.

 _She_ marks _him_ with her branding kiss and he is hers completely.

Her tongue plunders his mouth and he matches her, mouth wide and devouring everything she gives. She pulls back slightly and nips at his lips and it is delicate and teasing and _so fucking erotic_ he can hardly think. Then she whimpers and he slits his eyes open. He doesn’t want to miss this. He wants to see every moment that leads to Wendy Darling coming totally apart for him. And she will, he thinks, he _will_ have her; wholly, utterly, completely. He doesn’t care how long he has to wait.

Abruptly, she rips her lips from him and her whole body goes tense. So there it is. He’s not even surprised when stares up at him, all flushed and panting because of _his_ kiss. He would bet you his life that her boyfriend doesn’t kiss her like that – that she doesn’t kiss _him_ like this.

She’s a fucking _wreck_ and Peter is so proud of himself. _He_ did that. She _let_ him do that.

When she runs, no excuses or explanations, just pure guilt scrawled across her face, he isn’t even mad. She didn’t say it was wrong, didn’t say anything that sounded like regret. She just left. And for a boy who’s been surviving on the dust from crumbs of her attention, he feels like he’s just feasted.

_She kissed him._

He can work with this. He leans back against the bookshelves, arms crossed and smug smirk impossible to erase.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags added for this chapter. Please heed :)

Wendy Darling is a horrible person.

She can’t even look Baelfire in the eye all afternoon. Luckily, she shares no classes with him that day and, after school, he just drops a kiss on her cheek and asks her if she wants him to walk her home. She shakes her head and says she’ll call him later.

She needs to tell him.

God, after that, she needs to tell him the truth so he can dump her as quick as he can, because she doesn’t deserve an ounce of the respect or affection he has for her.

She _cheated_ on him. This time it was no fluke - she let Peter kiss her and she kissed him back, and she let him - oh god, if they hadn’t been in the library...

She feels sick. She feels horrible. And she can’t stop replaying that kiss in her mind, her stomach churning, her insides twisting. And yet, there’s a hint of exhilaration to it, because that kiss was a dream. It was passionate and intense and fierce, and the mere thought of it sends an ache between her legs - oh god, what is wrong with her?

She feels guilty for doing this to Bae. She feels guilty for doing this to Peter, because he’s in _love_ with her, and oh she still has trouble wrapping her mind around that - and she’s messing around with him while she’s with someone else. She’s leading him on, she’s a monster of selfishness. She’s going to end up making a mess of things, and she needs to clear it up - now.

At home, she curls up in bed with her phone once she’s taken time to clear her mind, as much as she can - she tries calling Bae, but he doesn’t answer. Just as well - she doesn’t know if she has the energy to talk to him now.

With trembling hands, she takes a deep breath, _face the consequences of your stupid actions, Wendy Darling_ , and texts Peter.

 

[unsent text] i can’t handle myself around you apparently

[unsent text] this can never happen again

[unsent text] you are so utterly unfair peter pan i am so mad

 

[text] i’m sorry i ran out on you like that

[text] what happened in the library shouldn’t have happened

 

[unsent text] don’t get me wrong it was amazing it made me

 

[text] are you mad at me?

 

 

**PETER:**

To be honest, Peter Pan is lost. It’s not something he feels often and he doesn’t like it. He feels adrift and so he clings as hard as he can to his one happy thought: Wendy Darling kissed him.

After the initial rush had worn off, he had suddenly felt terrible about what had happened. Not because he had any sort of consideration for Baelfire. But because of Wendy. As much as she had kissed him, he knows her well enough to know she’s going to tear herself apart because of it. And he’s hurt her enough. He doesn’t need this added to his list of sins.

But god, _what a sin to have committed_.

He’s lying on his bed tossing a ball up and down, thinking about Wendy. _Wendy, Wendy, Wendy_ and her lips and her skin and her taste. She’s so fucking gorgeous he could die. The way she kissed him, he can hardly believe. Who knew his timid little bird had that fire? He likes fire. He likes _her_ fire. He would immolate himself in it with a smile.

He almost misses the chime of his phone under the thumping beat of his music, but he snatches it up greedily. He knew she would text him. All he can hope for is that she isn’t promising to never see him again. He can’t live with that. He _can’t_.

 

[unsent text] so am i. I could have kissed you forever

 

[text] it’s cool

 

[unsent text] don’t

[unsent text] don’t say that ever please

[unsent text] it’s the best thing to have ever happened to me don’t make it wrong

 

[text] I don’t regret it

[text] why would I be mad at you?

**WENDY:**

[text] i don’t know

 

[unsent text] i don’t want to hurt you

 

[text] look i have a boyfriend and i know you like me

 

[unsent text] actually you said you were in love with me but oh god i can’t

 

[text] i’m so sorry i feel like the worst person in the world

 

[unsent text] i’m crying i need a hug please just

 

[text] i don’t know what i’m doing okay you confuse the hell out of me

 

**PETER:**

[text] i know you do

 

[unsent text] don’t remind me

 

[text] don’t

 

[unsent text] don’t regret it. please.

[unsent text] let me have this. even if it’s only this

[unsent text] what do you want me to say, bird? that i’m sorry?

[unsent text] i’m not

 

[text] it’s not confusing

[text] i’ve wanted to kiss you for years and you finally let me

[text] i like you

 

[unsent text] i love you

 

[text] what do you feel?

 

[unsent text] we have something real, bird

[unsent text] give me a chance and we can have it all

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] years how can it be years i still don’t understand i don’t get it

[unsent text] you could have pretty much every girl in school why me

[unsent text] what if you get bored

 

[text] it’s confusing to me

 

[unsent text] i feel horrible i feel guilty and i feel like you shouldn’t like me but i don’t want you to stop

[unsent text] i feel like i’m betraying my best friend

[unsent text] i feel like i want you but i shouldn’t help me

 

[text] i don’t know

[text] a week ago i thought you hated me half the time

[text] and now you’re kissing me and you’re acting like a different person

[text] i don’t know what to do but i know i shouldn’t have kissed you like that

[text] i can’t do this to bae he’s a good person

[text] i’m sorry i’m a mess

 

**PETER:**

[text] i hated the way you made me feel

[text] i still hate it sometimes

[text] but i meant what i said

 

[unsent text] i love you so much it hurts

[unsent text] my heart beats out of my chest when you walk by, my tongue twists in my mouth and i can’t make sounds much less words

[unsent text] you confuse me more than you can imagine

 

[text] you asked me to be nice. i’m being nice

 

[unsent text] break up with him

[unsent text] be mine

 

[text] i figured as much

[text] *sends picture attachment of teddy bear*

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] so all i had to do was ask you to be nice god peter you just

[unsent text] you are sending me a teddy bear goddammit

 

[text] oh peter that’s sweet he’s so cute

[text] wait

[text] is that yours?

[text] you have stuffed animals?

[text] does he have a name please tell me he has a name

 

[unsent text] distract me ok i need it

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah he’s mine

[text] if you tell anyone darling all bets are off

[text] his name is tootles and he’s a model

 

[unsent text] see what i do for you?

[unsent text] there goes my fucking dignity. i hope you’re happy

 

**WENDY:**

[text] tootles omg

[text] that is so cute peter oh my gosh

[text] he’s a model???

[text] are you his agent?

[text] omg please tell me more about tootles your model teddy bear i need to know

 

[unsent text] how are you so adorable

[unsent text] how come i didn’t know all these things before why couldn’t you have been like this before

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] jesus fuck you’re cute

 

[text] he’s sexy not cute ok?

[text] i’m his photographer

[text] he’s very exclusive and notoriously hard to work with

[text] i’m the only one who puts up with him really

[text] *sends more picture attachments of tootles*

 

[unsent text] don’t ever say i don’t love you

 

**WENDY:**

[text] that is so adorable

[text] nonsense i’m sure he’s the sweetest

[text] maybe it’s you who has an attitude problem peter pan

[text] oooh he is very sexy indeed

[text] is tootles single because i have a stuffed unicorn in need of some romance

[text] *sends picture attachment*

 

[unsent text] oh gosh what even is this conversation how do you make me feel better so easily

[unsent text] i can’t deal with how adorable you are it’s not fair

 

[text] if only you’d been like this before

[text] oh

[text] oh gosh that wasn’t meant to be sent just ignore that

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] you liked my attitude just fine earlier

 

[text] i can be nice to one person at a time

[text] you or him, your choice

[text] tootles thinks that’s a sexy unicorn

[text] he wants to know when we can set up a playdate

[text] fair warning he’s a perv

 

[unsent text] can we set up a date for us?

[unsent text] fuck that was pathetic and you have a boyfriend

 

[text] no tell me

[text] would you have gone out with me?

 

[unsent text] what am i asking you? fuck

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh god yes

[text] i don’t know if i should answer that

[text] because the answer will either make you feel better or worse

 

[unsent text] idk what you want me to say is this going to change anything i still have a boyfriend

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] i don’t care. just tell me

[unsent text] fuck say yes please

[unsent text] actually no dont

[unsent text] oh YES

 

[text] yeah ok

[text] tootles has bros

[text] *sends picture attachments*

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh my god!!!!!

[text] peter this may hurt your rep but i’m going to say this

[text] you are a huge dork and that is the cutest thing

 

[unsent text] goddammit

 

[text to Bae] are you home?

 

**PETER:**

[text] i warned you if you tell people bird

[text] nice to know you think im cute ;)

 

[unsent text] i think you’re the fucking sun i love you so much

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i believe i said the bears were cute

[text] but you’re cute too okay you’re a dork

[text] hey i have to go but this was nice thank you for making me feel better

 

[unsent text] you’re so sweet peter

 

[text to Bae] if you’re not busy tonight i could come over i need to talk to you about something

 

**PETER:**

[text] whatever lets you sleep at night

[text] you’re cute too

[text] for a nerd

 

[unsent text] you’re adorable and i can’t

[unsent text] don’t go now

 

[text] glad i could be of service

 

[unsent test] you know i would do anything for you right?

 

[text] see you in school

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i know i’m cute and nerds are in btw

[text] honestly

 

[text] yeah I’ll see you at school thank you

[text] give tootles a kiss for me

* * *

**PETER:**

It’s early the next morning when Peter parks his car and walks right into the ugliest glare he’s ever gotten from Baelfire. It’s not the first time the other boy has expressed disapproval or disdain for him, but this morning’s expression is particularly vile. Peter raises an eyebrow in his direction but the other boy gets distracted soon enough by that tough blonde girl he’s always hanging around with. Emma, if Peter remembers correctly.  She and Wendy are always mothering someone or something; Wendy caring for the wounded and Emma generally kicking ass. She’s threatened Pan more than once on Wendy’s behalf and Peter has a grudging sort of respect for her. 

Not long after that, the Darling’s red convertible pulls into the lot and Wendy steps out, head down and shoulders slumped. She nods at something her brother says and it’s obvious the boy tries to pry a smile out of her before he drives off. Wendy’s attention is captured by Tink almost immediately though and Peter is left frowning at the whole scene in the morning chill.

Later, in World History, Baelfire shoots him dark looks and Peter is beginning to put the pieces of this puzzle together. God, Wendy wouldn’t be - she _would_ be that guilty. _Fuck._

With Baelfire’s glare burning a hole into the back of his head, Peter sneaks his phone out under the desk and sends a text.

 

[text] your boyfriend is trying to blow my brain up with his mind

[text] any idea why?

 

**WENDY:**  

Wendy told Bae everything. 

It came out jumbled, messy, and she felt like dying when she saw his sweet, soft brown eyes widen in shock, and then in betrayal. She hurt him - she hurt her best friend and for this, she might never forgive herself. He didn’t get angry that’s not like him, but after she was done talking, pouring out everything, or well almost everything, some details like the library were better left unsaid, he looked at her and asked her what she _wanted_.

And she said that she had no idea and god, she wanted him to be her friend again so she could confide absolutely everything she thought she was feeling, but she couldn’t.

In return for her honesty, Bae was brutally honest as well. He told her that he thought Peter Pan was a dick, and Wendy recognized that Bae had every reason for thinking that. He told her that he cared about her, but that he wasn’t going to fight for her if he wasn’t what she wanted. He told her to be careful with Pan, telling her that the boy was probably “one of the nastiest people he’d ever met” he had told her as much, before. But he was also oddly understanding, because he knew how Wendy felt before - and although he was hurt, frustrated, he didn’t yell at her. On some level, she felt as though he understood.

Wendy would have almost preferred the screaming to the resigned, slightly bitter look in his eyes.

And then, he told her that he needed to think, and that he thought she needed to think, too. It wasn’t what you could call a _break-up_ \- Wendy wasn’t quite sure what it was. Things were _unfinished_. Hanging. Somewhere between conflict and a return to friendship. She didn’t know. She didn’t dare ask - she felt like by this point, she should take anything Bae was kind enough to give her.

He still hugged her when she started apologizing again, little, guilty sobs shaking her. To be honest, Wendy didn’t feel like she deserved his affections or his friendship, at this point. But he kissed her forehead, sighing, telling her once again to be _careful_ , and she made her way home.

She cried herself to sleep but mostly, she felt relieved. She had done the right thing. And it hadn’t been as bad as she had thought, even if she felt so guilty that she almost threw up in the morning.

She didn’t dare approach Bae that morning, and when she caught a glimpse of Peter in front of the school, she averted her eyes and made her way to class. She knew that she needed to deal with whatever feelings she had for him, but she didn’t even know where to start, or how to ask him everything that she wanted to ask since the beginning.

She couldn’t even focus on her classes. She wondered if she should give Peter a heads-up that Bae knew, but Bae was hardly the aggressive type, or so she thought. As her phone buzzed halfway through economics class, she hid it behind her book, ignoring the little glance that Tink gave her. She felt her heart jump when she noticed who the text was from.

 

[unsent text] he might not be my boyfriend anymore

[text] …i told him about yesterday

[text] and last week

[text] i’m sorry i should have told you i did

 

**PETER:**

[text] you told him about yesterday?

[text] not everything or i’d have a black eye, right?

 

[unsent text] why would you do that?

[unsent text] are you two over? please be over

 

[text] he hasn’t come at me yet so it’s cool

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yeah i told him

[text] not everything but the basics and bae wouldn’t punch you

 

[unsent text] he’s a good guy and i don’t deserve him at all

 

[text] he won’t come at you that’s not his style

 

**PETER:**

[text] i kissed his girlfriend

[text] twice

[text] what kind of guy won’t try to kill me?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] he’s not like that

[text] but maybe stay out of this way because he already didn’t like you

[text] so i doubt it helped

[unsent text] we should talk

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] was he even serious about you? how can he not want to kill me? have you seen you?

 

[text] noted

[text] wait are you implying i can’t take him?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i’m implying nothing

[text] i just don’t want you two to fight

[text] i shouldn’t be texting you i’m in class

 

[unsent text] i need to talk to you

[unsent text] i need to know if i’m crazy

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’m just saying i could take him

[text] and i make no promises if he comes at me

 

[unsent text] i’ve wanted to punch him for kissing you since last week anyway

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] please don’t do anything

* * *

**WENDY:**

Her day is actually going better than expected. She and Bae exchanged a few words, polite, nice enough, at her locker between classes, and she’s got Tink to keep her smiling. Her best friend doesn’t know exactly what’s going on, although Wendy does want to tell her soon - she’s been holding off, because she knows how close Tink is with Felix, and how close Felix is with Peter. She’s afraid the blond boy might resent her, or something. 

Maybe, she has no idea how to explain a situation that feels like a tornado she’s helplessly caught in.

She’s a little nervous before English class, because that’s a class she shares with Peter - she tries to forge steel in her spine and act normal. She doesn’t see him come in, a few seconds after the bell rings, he’s barely late, but he’s never really on time, anyway. It takes her a few minutes to dare glance back at him and when she does, her heart clenches, and a flutter of worry spreads through her chest.

His jaw is bruised. She can clearly see the darker skin on his cheek, and it makes her shoulders tense. She never liked to see him hurt, or in trouble, even when he was horrible to her. It always made her stomach twist.

She waits until the teacher is lecturing to discreetly pull out her phone, and text him, heart pounding. She can’t help it - either Peter got into a random fight, which isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, given his temper, or he ran into Bae. The idea that they could have been fighting sickens her, and she feels a little nauseous already. Her heart clenches at the thought that if Peter has a bruise, it means Bae probably has one too, and she hates that either of them got hurt because she was stupid enough not to hold off on her impulses.

 

[text] what happened to your face?

[text] are you okay?

[unsent text] please tell me that wasn’t bae please

 

**PETER:**

His jaw fucking aches. Goddamned floppy-haired fuck had some bite in him after all. Not that Peter blames the guy. He’d have done the same if their situations had been reversed. 

To be honest, he’d have done worse.

Peter gets off with a bruised jaw and the uncomfortable warning to stay the fuck away from Wendy Darling. He doesn’t like it, doesn’t like the way the other boy talks about Wendy with that kind of authority in his voice; the kind of authority a real boyfriend has.

Fuck, he just brawled with a dude in the parking lot over a girl. They almost got caught too. How fucking stupid was that?

But it was over Wendy and, really, anything is worth it for her.

Although the other boy got the first hit in thus resulting in the blooming bruise on Peter’s jaw, Peter hadn’t been lying when he said he could take him. Baelfire’s nose is busted, casualty of Peter’s fist, and Peter had been sitting on the other boy’s chest, poised to strike again when the coach had come round and they’d scattered. Last Peter knew, the other boy was being dragged off to the nurse’s office by his little blonde bodyguard. _Wuss._

Peter slinks late into English, just barely making it before the teacher locks him out for the whole period. He slumps down on his desk and glares out the window. The teacher’s voice is droning on about imagery in Golding; _waves, more waves, rocks_ when his phone vibrates in his pocket.

He glances up at her when he reads the text and she’s still watching him with her lips in a thin line over her shoulder. He tries to give her a quick smile but it comes out as more of a grimace with the ache in face.

 

[text] your boyfriend isn’t the pacifist you think he is

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh god no

[text] bae did this to you?

[text] what the hell happened?  

 

[unsent text] peter pan if you antagonized him i swear to god

 

**PETER:**

[text] yea he’s got a decent right hook

 

[unsent text] i asked him why he looked so down

[unsent text] someone kick his dog or steal his girl

 

[text] he came at me after all

[text] swan probably took him to the nurse

[text] sorry if he’s not pretty for you anymore

[text] i think i broke his nose

 

[unsent text] over you. at least you can’t kiss him now.

 

**WENDY:**

[text] to the nurse??

[text] oh for heaven’s sake

[text] i can’t believe you guys fought you’re complete idiots

[text] did you have to break his nose???

 

[text to Emma] is bae with you what happened

 

**PETER:**

[text] i told you i could take him

[text] in my defence, he threw the first punch

[text] i just threw all the rest

[text] i didn’t have to but now you can’t kiss him so there’s that

[text] fuck you weren’t supposed to get that

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i am so mad at you honestly you could have shown some restraint

[text] he has every right to be angry with you

[text] are you kidding me??????

[text] i can’t believe you!!!!!

[text] i wasn’t planning on kissing him anytime soon we’re not exactly on the best terms right now

[text] you have some nerve peter pan

 

**PETER:**

[text] nope

 

[unsent text] i’m supposed to be mad about this why?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you know what i’m glad you got punched

[text] i hope it hurts!!!

[text] i am done talking to you you make me so mad

[text] as if i didn’t feel bad enough you just go and

[text] ugh NEVER MIND

 

[unsent text] why do you have to be like this oh god why did i ever think

 

**PETER:**

[text] of course it fucking hurts

 

[unsent text] fuck please no

[unsent text] wendy no i’m sorry

[unsent text] fuck i’m sorry

 

[text] fine

 

**WENDY:**

[text] good!

 

[unsent text] i hate you so much you are ruining my life

[unsent text] liking you is self-destructive as hell i hate you

[unsent text] you’re a jerk

[unsent text] now i want to cry in class this is a nightmare 

* * *

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] i’m sorry

[unsent text] i was a dick

[unsent text] i miss you

[unsent text] i’m sorry i fucked up

[unsent text] are you still mad at me

[unsent text] fuck wendy give me something

[unsent text] god i miss you

 

It’s been four days since the fight in the parking lot and Peter Pan is miserable. The thing about ignorance being bliss? _Very_ true. Because, for a brief flash of time, he had been let into the world of Wendy Darling and now, as always, he’s fucked up and gotten himself kicked out.

He feels like shit. He was a dick to her. He knows it. He re-reads their last conversation once a day at least. God, he misses her and he didn’t even actually have her.

He scrolls up through their texts. For two people who supposedly irritate each other, they talked a lot in a short time. He scrolls past the picture of her unicorn and suddenly, he has an idea that might just help quell the aching need inside of him.

 

[text] *picture attachment*

[text] tootles wants to know what happened to the sexy unicorn

[text] is she still pissed at him

 

[unsent text] please forgive me i’m sorry i love you

 

**WENDY:**

Wendy feels like a complete idiot - because she feels as though she ruined a perfectly good thing, that is her relationship with Baelfire, for nothing. Here she was, naive, actually thinking that something between her and Peter could be _possible,_ she had even hoped for it, despite her best attempts at rationality, and he’d just crushed that completely. It made her feel as though she was a complete and utter fool. Leopards don’t change their spots, and she’d been naive to think so. He’d lured her in with this new, sweet side, and he’d still antagonized Bae - Emma had told Wendy what happened, and it had only served to make the teenage girl feel even worse. 

For god’s sake, Bae had a broken nose, and this was all her fault. It was always a mystery why Wendy Darling liked Peter Pan in the first place - he had his moments, smiles and words that made her heart flutter, but he’d remained unkind, most of the time. She’d let herself hope that it could change for good.

She should have known better.

But god, she _misses_ him - she misses Peter, she misses Bae, who still keeps his distance from her, and if it weren’t for Tink, she’d feel incredibly alone. But dammit, she’s mad at Peter Pan, and she’s not budging on this. He had no right to behave like this and to brush her off the way he had.

_Insensitive melon-head._

When she gets his text, her heart jumps a little, but she narrows her eyes. How dare he try to use the cute teddy bear against her? That is low. So low.

 

[text] yes she is

[text] he was kind of a dick

[text] i may not be talking about the teddy bear just so you know

 

**PETER:**

[text] he’s sorry

[text] he knows he was a dick and he’s really sorry

[text] he just wishes she would talk to him again

[text] he misses her

[text] btw not tootles

 

**WENDY:**

[text] damn you i don’t want the bear to apologize how dare you

[text] leave tootles out of this you insensitive melon-head

[text] you are unbelievable

[text] you know i was actually doing well I was HAPPY two weeks ago

[text] i was getting over you

[text] but then you show up with your random love confession and you ruin everything

[text] you become sweet and then you go back to being a complete dick and now you’re using teddy bears against me

[text] fuck you you can’t do that to me NO there is no way I’m letting you

[text] you can’t hide behind tootles and try to brush it off because i won’t stand for it dammit I AM STILL MAD AT YOU

[text] you antagonized bae and you had NO RIGHT and then you brushed me off and i

[text] i am so angry you are the most infuriating person i have ever met

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] would you forget about the fucking bear

 

[text] getting over me?

[text] wtf does that mean ‘getting over me’?

[text] and yes ok I’M SORRY

[text] i’m sorry i was a dick and i broke your stupid boyfriend’s nose and that i don’t fucking deserve you but

[text] what do you mean you were getting over me?

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh god no i didn't type that no

 

[text] that means nothing i didn’t mean to type that

[text] yes you were a dick and stop calling bae stupid he didn’t do anything to you

[text] i meant

[text] i meant that you’re an idiot and all you had to do was be nicer to me

[text] if you’d asked me out like a normal person instead of pushing me around

[text] i would have said yes all right?

[text] there but don’t you dare gloat about it because this doesn’t change the fact that

[text] you said you’d be nice and you didn’t even last a week

 

[unsent text] i actually liked you i am so mad at you for everything

 

**PETER:**

[text] don’t brush it off

[text] you sent it. it was important

[text] i tried for you

[text] god i was nice to you wasn’t i?

[text] and your fucking boyfriend ok i shouldn’t have provoked him

[text] but fuck, bird, he gets to kiss you and touch you and all that shit and i have to fucking beg

[text] fuck i tried to ask ok

[text] i’ve been trying to ask for YEARS

 

[unsent text] don’t remind me that i’m a fucking idiot

[unsent text] god don’t get over me please

 

**WENDY:**

[text] but

 

[unsent text] you can’t keep doing this to me you make me want to cry

 

[text] okay okay look

[text] yes you were nice to me but you also brushed me off and i hated that

[text] you can’t play with my emotions like that

[text] i don’t know what you want from me

 

[unsent text] you said you were in love with me but idk what that even means with you

[unsent text] does that mean you just don’t want me to be with anyone else and make out with you when you feel like it?

 

**PETER:**

[text] what else did you want me to do?

[text] kiss you every time you walked into the room?

[text] because that’s what i want. every time i see you

[text] you have a boyfriend and he isn’t me

 

[unsent text] i don’t deserve you

 

[text] but i wish it was

[text] if i didn’t ignore you half the time

 

[unsent text] i would never ever let you go

 

[text] fuck, wendy, what more do you want from me?

[text] i want to be with you. i want to date you, kiss you, love you

[text] fuck it

 

[unsent text] just forget it and leave me here to die

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh my god don’t say things like that i am dying

[unsent text] wait what what what

 

[text] wait

[text] hold on

[text] you mean you would actually

[text] you want to be my boyfriend??

[text] do we have the same definition of that word because i don’t feel like we do

[text] you don’t do girlfriends everyone knows that

 

[unsent text] oh my god you can’t be serious

[unsent text] please be serious

 

**PETER:**

[text] yes

 

[unsent text] i always have

 

[text] i don’t know. date me and find out

[text] i don’t do girlfriends because they’re not you

 

[unsent text] but i would date you in a second

[unsent text] why can’t you understand that i love you

[unsent text] fml

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh my god omg omg omg what

 

[text] okay so okay hold on a second and be serious because this is serious

[text] i swear to god give me a straight answer don’t mess around

[text] you want me to be your girlfriend as in

[text] hand holding and cuddling and kissing and being together in public

[text] peter are you for real

[text] because if you are

 

[unsent text] if you are i don’t know i don’t know i don’t know

[unsent text] you could break my heart so easily you terrify me

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] you amaze me

 

[text] seriously yes

[text] i’ve never wanted anything more

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh my god peter

[text] okay

[text] i don’t know what to say wow

 

[unsent text] tell me you love me again

 

[text] hypothetically speaking

[text] if i was your girlfriend

[text] would you stop being a dick to me?

[text] i mean peter pan in a relationship excuse me i can’t even imagine what that’s like okay

 

[unsent text] dammit i want to know what that’s like

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] say you’ll be my girlfriend. fuck baelfire

 

[text] hypothetically speaking

[text] you would be my queen

[text] i’d worship you

[text] because you’re beautiful and brilliant

[text] just absolutely fucking breathtaking

 

[unsent text] i’d love you like no one else ever could

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] peter pan give a girl a chance omg

 

[text] wow wow okay

[text]first of all thank you and second prepare for texts because i have things to say okay

[text] you’ve been honest with me so i’ll be honest with you

[text] okay so the truth is the thing with bae is sort of on the ice but it’s not over and i love him he’s my best friend ok?

[text] and i liked it when you and i tried the friendship thing it was nice

[text] so let’s keep doing that

[text] and maybe in a while you can ask me out

[text] and maybe i’ll say yes and maybe we can try this  

[text] but i make no promises because cards on the table you scare me to death okay

[text] i think i might like you a lot and you can be so mean and i’m afraid so don’t hurt me or i swear

[text] i will take tootles as hostage and you’ll never see him again

[text] deal?

 

[unsent text] i have officially gone insane but dammit i want to try this

 

**PETER:**

[text] you’re welcome. ok

 

[unsent text] YES

[unsent text] yeah but i don’t wanna be your friend

[unsent text] you terrify me too. you always have. do you think i wanted to be a dick to you?

[unsent text] fuck please do god wendy i love you i adore you

 

[text] tootles is an innocent bystander

[text] you drive a hard bargain

[text] but yes, deal

[text] hypothetically speaking

 

[unsent text] if i got you in the library again

[unsent text] would you let me lay you out on a table and fuck you till you can’t see straight?

 

[text] how long would it take you to choose between me and baelfire?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] okay good

 

[unsent text] if this is insanity sign me up for the asylum oh my god

 

[text] it’s not about choosing it’s just that

[text] i don’t want to jump from guy to guy okay that’s not what i want

[text] i love bae he’s my best friend and i don’t want to dump him and jump into your arms there’s no way i’m doing that

 

[unsent text] let’s face it it was over the moment you kissed me and god i don’t think i even regret it anymore what’s wrong with me

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] jump. i swear i’ll catch you

[unsent text] wait does that mean

 

[text] ok

[text] we can be friends

 

[unsent text] who make out in the library

 

[text] but just in case you missed it

[text] i love you

 

[unsent text] i don’t think i can stop

 

**WENDY:**

[text] thank you yes friends is good that works for me

 

[unsent text] oh my gosh don’t say that now say it again

 

[text] i

[text] i…like you?

[text] i’m sorry i don’t know how to answer that but thank you

[text] okay so i’ll see you soon? at school?

[text] or text me more pictures of tootles i mean i want exclusive pictures of his modeling career

 

[text] and one more thing

[text] don’t hurt me

[text] please

 

**PETER:**

[text] two weeks ago you hated me

[text] like is a good start, bird

[text] tootles will only model for the sexy unicorn

[text] he demands picture for picture

 

[unsent text] i can’t

[unsent text] not anymore

 

[text] never

 

**WENDY:**

[text]fine i can work that out with fluffycakes

[text] don’t make fun of that name i was young

 

[text] okay thank you

[unsent text] i’ll think about you

 

[text] talk to you soon peter

[text] …i’m happy we talked :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] fluffycakes. ok.

[text] see you at school

 

[unsent text] i can’t fucking wait

* * *

**WENDY:**

[text] so i want to plan a birthday party for tink and i wanted felix to plan it with me and

[text] here’s his answer brace yourself

[text] “i’m not sure she’d want me to i’m not her boyfriend”

[text] peter am i allowed to shake him

[text] if he’s with you right now can you punch him on the arm

 

**PETER:**

[text] if you can reach, sure

[text] he’s not here

[text] he’s with tink

 

**WENDY:**

[text] no but seriously he is such an idiot

[text] he better get her a nice gift or else

[text] anyway how are you? :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’ll let him know you said so

[text] i’m sick of skyrim

[text] need to buy a new game

[text] how are you bird?

 

**WENDY:**

[text]i’ve never actually played this game

[text] i like the sims

[text] i’m good

[text] *sends picture attachment of fluffycakes*

 

**PETER:**

[text] it will take over your life

[text] i have no idea how you play the sims

[text] *sends picture attachment of tootles with a candy cane*

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh the sims is so much fun

[unsent text] i have a peter sim

[text] ohhh fluffycakes likes this

[text] candy canes are her weakness

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’ll take your word for it

[text] *sends picture attachment of tootles covered in candy canes*

[text] tootles says hey babe

 

**WENDY:**

[text] babe?

[text] excuse me fluffycakes is a lady he can’t call her babe so soon

[text] she needs to be courted

[text] *sends picture of fluffycakes with a hat on her head*

 

**PETER:**

[text] doll? cutie? sweetheart? bird?

[text] pick one

[text] does fluffycakes wanna have dinner?

[text] *sends picture attachment of tootles with a candybar*

 

**WENDY:**

[text] not bird

[unsent text] that’s for me

[text] fluffycakes accepts but

[text] tootles shouldn’t expect to get lucky fluffycakes isn’t easy

[text] *sends picture of fluffycakes*

 

**PETER:**

[text] tootles is up all night to get lucky ;)

[text] *sends picture of tootles in a fedora*

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you’re a dork peter pan

[text] fedoras are her other weakness

[text] hey your house has a basement right?

 

**PETER:**

[text] fedoras? really?

[text] tootles is doing better than i thought he would

[text] yeah why?

 

[unsent text] wanna make out in it?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] tootles can be quite charming when he wants to be

 

[unsent text] i’m not talking about the bear

 

[text] do you think maybe your uncle would let us use it for tink’s birthday?

 

**PETER:**

[text] he tries

[text] he really likes fluffycakes

[text] i dunno. i could find out if you want?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] please? i would ask felix but

[text] well no offense but he’s a dummy

[text] tink’s birthday is important

 

**PETER:**

[text] sure

[text] too much mint chilled his brain

 

**WENDY:**

[text] something like that :)

[unsent text] it’s over with bae just so you know

[text] thank you!

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’ll get back to you

* * *

**PETER:**

[text] i read your story

[text] it’s really good

 

**WENDY:**

[text] really?????????

[text] you liked it???

 

**PETER:**

[text] i did

[text] your lead character is fun

 

[unsent text] am i imagining it or is he me?

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh god i hope you didn’t notice the inspiration

 

[text] yes i like him :)

[text] i am so glad you liked it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[text] thank you for reading!!!!!!!!!!!!

[text] okay i have to ease up on the exclamation points

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] fuck woman

 

[text] no problem. do you want the proofed copy back?

[text] killian said ok to the tink thing

[text] and felix is on board

[text] i hid his mints until he agreed

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh yes please that would be lovely thank you

[text] yay!! thank you so much!

[text] hahaha good job use the mints to your advantage

[text] i really appreciate it peter i owe you :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] k. can i give them to you in english or

 

[unsent text] will baelfire attack again. i can’t promise i won’t break his nose again

 

[text] u’re welcome

[text] can i name my price?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yes that would be great thank you!

 

[unsent text] oh god yes

 

[text] maybe ;)

[text] you can always try your luck

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] fuck

[unsent text] leave the floppy-haired fuck

[unsent text] god woman give me all of you

 

[text] when the time is right

[text] i’ll hold you to that

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] can the right time be now because i really want to

 

[text] noted

[text] can’t wait to see what you come up with

 

[unsent text to Tink] tink stop me i think i’m flirting with him

[unsent text to Tink]i really really want to make out with him right now oh my god i’m insane

 

**PETER:**

[text] be careful what you wish for, bird ;)

 

**WENDY:**

[text] is that supposed to scare me peter pan?

[unsent text] come over and make out with me

 

**PETER:**

[text] not scare

[text] more like entice

[unsent text] i’m trying here bird stop baiting me

 

**WENDY:**

[text] well cards on the table

[text] …it may be working

[unsent text to Tink] tink tink HELP am i a harlot if i ask him to come over

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] fuck yes

[unsent text] god meet me somewhere

[unsent text] let me kiss you i won’t even rub it in his face this time

 

[text] really?

[text] i could give you a hint

[text] if you’re good

 

[unsent text] are you a good girl, bird? i don’t think you are

[unsent text] fuck what even is this

[unsent text] are you even single?

[unsent text] who fucking cares?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i don’t know

[text] i don’t really feel like being good so

[text] you might have to show me

 

[unsent text] dammit i didn’t mean to send the last one

[unsent text] oh and screw this it’s sent anyway

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] fuck bird FUCK

[unsent text] you can’t be sexy too its not fucking fair

 

[text] show you how to be bad? i can give you private lessons

[text] i’ll even give you a discount

[text] but you’re doing a pretty good job yourself

[text] how’s the boyfriend?

 

[unsent text] fuck

[unsent text] fuck fuck fuck i didn’t mean that

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh right well actually

[text] there’s no boyfriend

[text] i wouldn’t have said all that if i still had a boyfriend yk

[text] i want to see you

 

[unsent text] oh gosh i shouldn’t have sent that i sound too eager

 

[text] i mean if that’s okay i don’t want to just

[text] never mind forget it

 

[unsent text] you say i make you stupid well that makes two of us

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] YES

 

[text] really

[text] you two kept that quiet

 

[unsent text] god yes please

[unsent text] i always want to see you

[unsent text] let me see you

 

[text] where are you?

[text] you wanna go somewhere?

[text] i could pick you

[text] just go drive maybe. talk?

 

[unsent text] fuck i sound like a pansy

[unsent text] you really do make me stupid as shit

 

**WENDY:**

[text] it wasn’t a very dramatic break-up and we’re still friends so

[text] i guess it didn’t show?

 

[unsent text] yes yes i want to see you i want you to kiss me again

 

[text] i’m home

[text] we could take a drive if you don’t mind

[text] if that’s not too weird

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] i don’t give a fuck

[unsent text] you’re single and that’s what matters

 

[text] cool

 

[unsent text] i want you so much

[unsent text] if we do this i’m going to kiss you

[unsent text] please let me kiss you

 

[text] i don’t mind

[text] i can pick you up in fifteen

[text] Bloomsbury street, right?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yes number 14 i’ll wait outside

[text] i can’t wait to see you

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] fuck i’m going to kiss you until you see stars

[text] cool. see you soon ;)

 

The drive to 14 Bloomsbury is both the longest and shortest of Peter Pan’s young life. When he turns the corner onto her street, he can already see her standing on her porch, soft grey cardigan and pretty green shirt fluttering gently in the breeze. She’s so pretty, _goddamn._  

He slows down the closer he gets and puts his Jeep in park at the bottom of her driveway. He jumps out and runs around to her side of the vehicle to open her door with a flourish and smirk.

 #

She’s wearing green. Okay so maybe that’s a little on purpose, because he likes green. That’s his color. She’s pretty sure she’s gone insane, but she’s single, now - and well, she’s trying to figure out what she wants. She’s trying not to overthink it and besides, she can’t figure out if she wants to be with him without actually spending time with him, right?

Bae’s warning words ring in her head _Please, Wendy, just be careful, all right? You know how he is with girls. I don’t want him to hurt you._ while Bae made a valid point, he hasn’t seen that other side of Peter and to be honest, she doesn’t want to deny herself. And maybe, just maybe, she, too, has a bit of a reckless side.

When he arrives, she feels her heart thump, and a smile tugs at her lips. Oh god, he’s handsome - his shirt hugs his body, and his hair is combed the way she always liked it, does he know she likes that?. He gives her that smirk that always made her a little weak-kneed. He opens the door as she makes her way towards him, and she can’t help herself - she beams, all brightness and barely concealed excitement.

“Thank you, kind sir,” she says with a little bow, before getting into the vehicle. As she passes by Peter, she gets the faintest whiff of cologne, and it makes her sigh a little. She takes her seat, taking a brief look around - the inside of Peter Pan’s Jeep. Oh, the stories she heard - he’s given rides to a few girls and from what she’s caught, what goes on in there isn’t for chaste eyes. She feels a little twist in her stomach at the idea because she’s far from experienced, and he’s been with a lot of girls, or so she thinks. She chases the thought away - insecurities are for later. For now, she glances at him as he gets back into the driver’s seat, and she smiles. So what if she’s happy to see him? She has that right. She can. She doesn’t have to feel guilty about it.

 #

He wasn’t prepared for the shorts. Jesus they’re short. Her legs go for miles, all pale smooth skin. He tears his eyes away to look at her face instead, praying she didn’t notice his distraction.

She’s beaming as she makes her way toward him, looking as excited as he feels. Are they really doing this? This isn’t some sort of sappy dream he’s having? It wouldn’t be the first time. When she thanks him for opening her door like Killian taught him, he winks at her, meets her little bow with a nod and tries - really he does - to keep his eyes off her legs as she climbs in his jeep. The long end of her cardigan falls against her knees though and she pushes it aside as she sits. He bites back a little sound at the sight.

When he gets in the driver’s side, she’s examining his carefully maintained interior with an adorable curiosity. He catches her eyes and her smile is shy and beautiful. He aches to lean over and press his lips to hers. She’s painted them something slick and pink and he wants to lick it off. He licks his own instead and tells her, “Nice lipgloss.”

Then he drags his eyes back to the road and clears his throat because that sounded really stupid outloud. Attempting to save his dignity, he shifts into Drive and asks, “Where to?”

 #

_Nice lipgloss?_

That means he was looking at her mouth _oh my god_ they’re going to kiss again she can feel it. She bites the inside of her cheek, and smiles.

“Thanks,” she says, watching him as he looks away from her. Her eyes sparkle - is he _nervous_? Why is he nervous? He’s Peter Pan, king of easy smirks and smooth words.

When he asks where she wants to go, she shrugs, and leans her head back on the seat. “Wherever you want,” she answers. “Let’s just go somewhere. Surprise me.”

_Take me somewhere where nobody’s around,_ she thinks, without saying it. As he starts getting out of the driveway, she glances at him, and finds herself oddly mesmerized by his effortless, yet firm grip on the steering wheel. His sleeves are pulled up, and his forearms are exposed, and she forces herself to look away.

Good god, what is _wrong_ with her today?

“...Can I turn on the radio?” she asks, more to distract herself than anything.

 #

She leaves the decision up to him and he immediately rules out anywhere he’s ever taken any other girl. Wendy is special. He starts driving and tells her to go for it when she asks about the radio. He starts heading east as she fiddles through stations. Finally, she settles on something and it’s not candyfloss pop. He’s already impressed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her start mouthing along to a song and he smiles a little to himself. He keeps his eyes mostly on the road until they turn onto the A1. The road follows the coastline, all beach along one side, and it’s one of his personal favourite drives. He settles back into his seat, drapes his hand lazily over the steering wheel and takes a quick peek at Wendy. She’s changing the station again, delicate fingers flicking through channels like the pages of books. When she settles on a quiet song - he thinks it’s U2 - he reaches out and catches her hand as she drops it from the radio.

Eyes still on the curving grey of the asphalt, he strokes his thumb along the inside of her palm and opens his hand around her in wait.

 #

The view from the window is nice, and it makes her smile as she glances to the beach, her eyes glancing over the sea on the horizon. There’s a song she likes playing on the radio, and she lets her mind wander for a bit - she feels oddly peaceful, all of a sudden, even if she was restless and excited a few minutes ago. She glances at Peter, who keeps his eyes on the road - he is so _handsome_. She’s always thought so, but there’s something about him, right now, as he drives, focused and silent. It’s like he’s sculpted in marble, and she feels like she could learn the lines of his features by heart. How did someone like him come to exist? It’s like he’s from another world, sometimes, and that’s probably what makes him so magnetic and hard to resist. She lets her gaze travel from his face to his arms while he’s not looking - oh, his _forearms_. She’s stared at his arms more than once, during class.

She forces her gaze away and changes the song, flipping through the radio channels, ending up on a song she likes. She jumps a little when Peter catches her hand, and her breath hitches as she looks down - _hand holding_. She’s still genuinely surprised when he does something gentle and nice.

She bites her lip, but she doesn’t hesitate for long. She laces her fingers with his loosely, before using her other hand to turn up the sound of the radio a little. Her heart beats fast, but she still feels oddly serene. She glances out the window, to the coastline, and says “Can we stop at the beach, maybe?” She glances at him. “...If you don’t mind.” Instinctively, she lets her thumb travel on the back of his hand, in a natural gesture - this feels nice. She’s totally okay with this.

Her fingers tangle with his, grip loose but it’s enough for him. He tightens his fingers around hers briefly but lets them stay that way, dangling above the cupholders as his elbow rests against the center console.

 #

Peter feels _happy_. Content, serene, whatever the right word is. He feels _happy_.

He’s wanted this - just this simple intimacy - longer than he’s even wanted to kiss her. He would drive to ends of the earth to never let this moment end. But Wendy, of course, has other ideas.

He thinks for a moment and remembers the secluded part of the beach he spent most of his free time on last year when he was...dealing with stuff. “Sure.”

He turns off the main road at the next exit and pulls up under the golden glow a streetlamp. The area is deserted, a little bit of forgotten parking space that overlooks the crashing waves. Behind them are trees that protect the little area from intruders and keeps it mostly empty. In the twilight, the air is cool and the breeze swift with the high tide. The ocean is the same blue as Wendy’s eyes in the right light and the smell of saltwater fills the nostrils.

He unlaces his hand from Wendy’s to kill the engine but he leaves the radio on. Lana croons something about her old man as he turns to look at the beauty beside him. Her hair is windblown and she’s smiling and he’s dying to kiss her. When she meets his eyes, her smile slides off. He reaches out and touches a flyway strand of golden hair, rolls it between his thumb and forefinger before tucking it gently behind her ear, fingertips dragging along the soft flesh there.

“God, Bird, you’re so beautiful it hurts,” he murmurs.

 #

Wendy doesn’t think she’s ever been in this particular area before. It’s deserted, and there’s a good view of the ocean from there. Pink and blue shimmers dance over the waves, and Wendy sighs contently. She’s always loved the sea - it inspires her, it fills her with serenity and dreams, and she considers herself lucky to be so close to it. And she can’t help but think that this is a pretty romantic setting. There’s a song she likes playing on the radio, and the soft voice of the singer carries to her ears, mixed with the distant sound of the sea.

They come to a stop, and the engine stops running. Wendy feels Peter’s fingers slip away from hers, and she barely has time to turn to him when he reaches to touch her hair. His gesture is sweet, soft, gentle, and it sends little butterflies fluttering into her ribcage. Her expression goes from relaxed to surprised to soft, warm, and the smile returns to her lips as she averts her eyes, blushing a little. It’s not that she’s that shy, but the look in his eyes is so deep, so intense that she feels as though she’s gazing into infinity. It’s overwhelming, and it tightens her chest in a way that’s not unpleasant.

God, she wants to kiss him. But suddenly, she’s nervous, and she’s afraid of rushing things. His words  have such an effect on her, and they will never cease to amaze her.

Slowly, but with a confidence that builds, she catches the hand that he brings up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She doesn’t look at his face - she keeps her eyes on the wrist she caught between her fingers, and she hesitantly brings his hand to her lips, pressing a fleeting, quick, impulsive kiss to his knuckles.

“Come on,” she says, looking up to meet his eyes. She needs to move, she needs to talk to get rid of her agitation. She smiles, and lets go of his hand before opening the door - the fresh air of the dusk hits her, clearing her mind, and she takes a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the ocean all the way to her lungs. She glances at Peter, making her way around the vehicle - she crosses her arms over her chest, shivering slightly, and leans against the hood, her gazing moving to admire the horizon.

“Look,” she squeals softly, her eyes gazing up to the sky. “That cloud looks like a boat.”

 #

He holds his breath when she holds his hand. He watches, entranced, as she brings his knuckles to her mouth. His breath is punched out of him by the press of her glossed lips to his scarred knuckles. That she would kiss him _there_ in that worst part of him, that part of his body that bears all the scars of his failures and the brunt of his frustrations, hits him like a wrecking ball. She demolishes everything in him and sets it right in a single move.

He’s too stunned by the force of his emotions to protest when she pulls him out of the vehicle. He follows her, dazedly, to the hood where she leans back and mentions something about clouds. He’s too distracted by the long line of her neck as she tilts her head back and the sweet smell of her hair wafting into him on the breeze. He keeps his eyes down, on her all the time, uninterested in her boat-shaped cloud.

He puts his hands on her hips and lifts her, suddenly, up onto the warmth of the hood. It puts her knees level with his abs and he leans against her, dragging his palms down her smooth legs to cup her knees. He tucks his fingertips in the curve behind her knees and looks at her.

She’s watching him with wide eyes and a hint of smile on her face. He leans forward and presses a gentle kiss on the left corner of her mouth. It’s a slow, lingering thing that leaves him breathless in a way no other kiss ever has. It’s something, special, some other sort of kiss, and he will never let anyone else have it.

“That,” he whispers, “that belongs to me.”

Then he tilts his head up and spots a cloud that looks vaguely like a teddy bear. He jerks his chin in its direction and tells her, “That one looks like Tootles.”

 #

How does he do it? There’s such an effortless grace, a smoothness to his movements that she wonders if he sold his soul to move with that level of ease. He’s so entrancing, in everything he does. No wonder she feels herself falling deeper with each second. It seems like only a split-second from the moment he takes a hold of her hips to the moment where she finds herself on the hood, heart pounding because his palms are running over the exposed skin of her legs. It sends little shivers through her flesh, and she watches him, wide-eyed, smitten. She feels her anticipation build up as she thinks he’s going to kiss her. When he does, though, it’s hardly the kiss she expects. His lips land on the corner of her mouth, sweet, lingering, and her eyes flutter shut. This kiss is like a caress, and her heart is affected by it, much more than her body.

His little whisper makes her eyes open, and she can’t even find anything to answer to that. Her heart beats wildly in her chest, and when he tilts his head up, she’s not even _listening_ to what he says. The sky stops mattering, because infinity is spreading through her chest.

Keeping her hands on each side of her legs, gripping the hood of the car with slippery fingertips, she shifts her hips to move up, and press her lips to his neck. A bold move, maybe, one that she didn’t even plan on doing, but his skin is warm and feels tender under her lips. She feels him tense in surprise, but there are little tingles on his skin, and she takes that as encouragement. Somewhere between an hesitancy that lends tenderness to her movements, and a confidence that gives her the courage to part her lips hotly on his skin, she lets her mouth travel on his throat, caressing his jawline. She feels herself flushing and she closes her eyes, halfway between the nervousness that holds her back and the willingness to abandon herself completely.

She waits, impatiently, in trepidation, for him to lean down his head and catch her lips with his.

 #

He feels her shift forward then her lips are on his neck and his eyes close, his lungs empty with a whoosh and his fingers dig into the softness of her flesh. She trails fire in her wake, lips blazing everywhere they touch, destroying and resurrecting him as utterly hers. He holds still, coiled and ready, because fuck he’s wanted this so much for so very long and he cannot fathom this reality in which he has _gotten_ it.

Wendy Darling is a gift to the world, a light in his life, and he can’t begin to think about living without her now that he’s had even this little bit of her.

Then she opens her mouth on his skin and all thoughts of holy things flee his mind. She scorches her way up toward his jaw, and he shudders out a breath as she pauses.

He wants her so much.

He pulls back and scans her face and eyes for any sign of hesitancy. What greets him are  nerves and expectation but no hint of regret or misgiving.

She wants him too.

“ _Fuck,_ Bird,” he mutters as he bends his head and captures her lips. He kisses her fiercely, tonguing his way across her lips and, when she opens invitingly for his tongue, he holds nothing back. He devours her wholly, tasting all the secret parts of her mouth, mapping the ridges of her teeth with the tip of his tongue. She tastes like milk and honey and heaven.

He runs his hands back up her legs until they clamp on her hips. He holds her harder than he should, fingers probably bruising through her jeans, and the thought of her hips covered with the purpling imprints of his fingers has him groaning against her open mouth. Their mouths release with a gasp but he doesn’t let her get far. He latches on to the sweet skin just beneath her ear and pulls on her hips. She slides on the gently sloping hood downward until her legs part around his hips and he is cradled against the warm apex of her thighs.

Fuck, she’s so warm.

His hips thrust forward, just a little bit, and she makes a delightful little noise against the shell of his ear. He pulls back a little, wanting to say something but, for the first time in ever, not knowing what.

 #

Wendy isn’t sure what she expected from making out with Peter Pan on top of his Jeep, but it’s everything she expected and nothing she imagined at once. Of course, oh, she’d thought about it, but to feel his body close to her, holding her tight is overwhelming, incredible. His touch burns, and his grip on her hips is so strong that it almost hurts. She doesn’t mind, though. She likes the feeling, like he can’t bear to let go, like he wants her closer. It feels good, because it shows that she affects him, despite being the little inexperienced girl that she is. All she has to go on with are kisses, and warm embraces with Bae - nothing more. She doesn’t know what she’s doing, not truly, but Peter makes her daring. He sets fire to her skin, and his kiss, branding her mouth, makes her want him, in a way she doesn’t think she could ever want anyone else.  

She kisses him back fiercely, losing herself in the warmth of his body, in the trembling pleasure of his tongue in her mouth. He lets out a muffled groan that sends a rush of heat between her legs, and when his lips leave hers to nip at her ear, she shivers.

She has to fight back a moan when he helps her slide down, her thighs parting to welcome his waist between her legs. She feels like she’s throbbing, and it’s intense, scary and thrilling all at once. When his hips thrust forward slightly to meet hers, she lets out a little surprised noise, halfway between a squeak and a moan, and she feels the powerful urge to push her hips forward to feel him again.

He pulls back, meeting her eyes, and she stares at him breathlessly. A million words dance in her mind, from confessions to pleas to orders, but she finds herself unable to say anything. Her hands move to slither around his hips, and she hooks her fingertips in one of his belt loops to drag him back towards hers. Tentatively, she moves her legs to wrap them around his waist, loosely, and she brings her hand up to tangle in his hair. She bites her lip, hard, like she’s trying to steel herself, and she tugs his head down so his lips will meet her neck.

She’s not thinking. She’s _feeling_ , and she’s letting herself do what feels _good_. 

Is this okay? She has no idea. She has no idea if she can just…make him do things. But he seems responsive enough, and when his mouth hits her skin, in the sensitive spot along her throat, her eyes flutter shut, and her grip tightens on his hair. Her fingers still hooked in his belt loop, she slowly, almost imperceptibly, begins to move her hips forward, shivers of pleasure rushing to her core as she feels his warmth heat her up through the fabric of their clothes. She thinks she feels him harden, between her legs, and she lets out a low, breathy moan, her lips forming his name without her really realizing it.

 #

She’s going to kill him. She’s going to just blow his mind up because, holy shit, he’s fucking dreamt of this; imagined it so many times, _cum so fucking hard_ to the thought of Wendy Darling’s legs wrapped around him. And she does it with her perfect little teeth biting into the plumpness of her reddened, utterly kissed out lips and her fingers tugging his belt-loops like a fucking Levi’s model.

_Good fucking God._

She tugs on his hair, pulls his head down toward her neck and he goes willingly, mouth open and breath hot across the hollows of her collar. He licks at the skin there, nipping it in tiny increments and maybe, just maybe, he leaves the faintest trail of his presence. He can’t help it. Something, someone else, has to know that he had this. He needs someone to know that this wasn’t all in his head. When he wakes up in the morning, he needs to know this wasn’t just another dream.

Suddenly, quietly, it becomes better than any dream he’s ever had because Wendy starts moving her hips against his. It’s shy and tentative but real and never, ever, ever in his wildest imaginings did she ever do something so _bold_.

If he wasn’t already in love with her, he would be now.

As it stands, he’s half-hard in his pants and growing. She’s hot even through the denim and he bets anything she’s wet too. He wants to feel it, _taste_ it.

He tugs on her hips, rocks against her, and his name comes pouring past her lips like a prayer, like a plea. It’s the sound of his salvation.

He pries his mouth from her flesh and reaches up to bury his hand in her curls. He tugs her back by her hair, a little rougher than he intended and takes in the visage of her arousal. Her eyes are blown wide, lips red and swollen, her breath nothing more than a harsh pant.

He did that to her. She let him do that to her. Fuck.

He leans down and kisses her, mouth open, and their slick tongues meet and slide in a sloppy, filthy kiss that is nothing like anything they’ve done before. It’s purely sex, purely about the physicality of it and he hears her moan like triumph.

With his free hand he reaches up behind her and tugs at the back of her cardigan until it falls loose to dangle from her wrists. He releases her mouth, briefly triumphant at the dazed look in her eyes and the shine of spit on her sweet lips, before turning his attention to the skin of her shoulders.

He kisses and bites his way up the slope of her right shoulder, drags the flat of his tongue across the dainty line of her collarbone, then kisses his way down the slope of her left. She rocks against him suddenly as he works his tongue along her flesh and he bites down hard. She rocks against him even harder, a gasp and groan blending in her mouth, and the words slip out on their own, a jumble of:

“You’re so fucking sexy,” and “You’re fucking perfect,” and “I love you,” and “I wanna fuck you so bad.”

There’s something slightly rough, primal about Peter’s movements, and she’s not sure if she’s supposed to like it so much. But the fact is, she _loves_ it. She wants _more_. When he kisses her again, open mouthed, his tongue plunging into her mouth, his lips practically ravaging hers, she kisses back, her body tensing up, wetness forming between her thighs against the fabric of her shorts - in the back of her mind, she’s aware of the rapid, incredibly fast rate with which this is escalating, but she can’t bring herself to care.

 #

She’s a shy girl, around people. She likes burying her nose into books, she likes doing things at her own time, she likes daydreaming - and that behavior results in people thinking she’s a fragile, blushing little flower. But the truth is, she isn’t. Not in the slightest. She is a thrillseeker, a storm chaser. Her minds pursues out the unknown with a mix of fear and excitement, and she wants more than happiness; she craves _life_. And this, right here, is it. With Peter, she feels alive, she feels her blood rushing through her veins like she’s running towards freedom, the way characters do in books. Those she reads about, or those she creates with her pen or her keyboard, they’re adventurous, they’re bold, and they don’t back away from fire. They rush into it headfirst.

And that’s exactly what she’s doing when she kisses Peter Pan back with as much force as she can muster. She catches a glimpse of where this is going, feeling the raw, carnal physicality of the kiss they exchange, but she makes no move to slow things down.

Her cardigan falls off with a simple tug, and Peter’s mouth falls on her shoulder. She lets him, encourages him, rocks her hips instinctively, seeking out all the pleasure she can without even realizing it as his lips and tongue work their way down her collarbone, teasing her aching flesh. She can feel him, hard and hot between her legs, and she wants to feel him more.

God, she wants to _come_. She wants him to put his hand between her legs and touch her, press his palm to the apex of her thighs until she sees stars. She knows it’s too soon, she knows it’s probably the opposite of carefulness- but who says she has to be rational? Does she want to wake up in twenty years and congratulate herself on how level-headed and cautious she’s been during her teenage years?

Besides, he loves her, doesn’t he? He won’t leave her stranded, and that’s something that’s starting to sink in. He’s _serious_ about this. His behavior screams it.

When Peter talks, though, nervousness peaks through the lust and the rush, and she looks at him, wide-eyed, breathless. A part of her wants to tell him to _just do it_. But as bold as Wendy Darling is, this is going fast as a derailed train.  She’s new at this, and Peter Pan, in all his experienced glory, terrifies her. She tugs on his hair to pull his head back so she can look at him, and she just blurts out what she has to say, brutally honest.

“I want you,” she says, surprised by how direct and confident it sounds. “I want you to…” She can’t say she wants him to fuck her. That doesn’t roll off her lips.  “ _I want you_. But I’ve never done this. I’m scared.”

She almost kicks herself, because wow, what a turn-off that sentence must have been. But if they’re going to do this, and she’s starting to think they are, and she really doesn’t _mind_ , she needs to trust him. Through the haze of her desire, excitement and nervousness, there’s an undercurrent steel, because a guy who would pull away for voicing a very legitimate fear isn’t a guy she wants to be with, anyway. And somehow, she doubts that it’s going to make Peter draw back from her.

 #

Peter Pan is a dick. This is a fact known and generally accepted by the masses. He’s rude and mean and antagonistic. He’s a prick of the highest caliber. But he does pride himself on one thing: he’s a douche but he has never and will never force a girl to do anything she isn’t comfortable with.

As is the case, Wendy Darling is ever the exception with that incident in the Chem Lab. Peter acknowledges that at least part of his general distress over the whole thing had been terror at Killian finding out and deservedly tanning his hide.

So when Wendy Darling – girl of his dreams – tells him that she’s _scared_ , he stops and thinks really hard about his next move.

The truth is: nothing he’s told her has been a lie. He does love her, he wants her and he does want to fuck her. He really, really does. The most important of these facts, however, is that he _loves_ her. He won’t hurt her. Not now, not anymore, not when he’s seen so much more of her than ever before and every new piece of her is more precious to him than the last.

_But_ she said she wanted him. Now, she’s looking up at him with eager, expectant eyes and baring a part of herself to him that is more intimate than any skin he can uncover. How in the hell did he ever get so lucky?

He presses a chaste kiss to her lips, hands still tight on her hips, and says, “Say the word and we stop. I swear to you, Bird, you say stop and we stop. I can’t—“

He licks his lips and tries again, “I know that I hurt you before. I said I was sorry in that text and I meant it. I’m sorry for everything I did that ever made you cry because we could have had this –whatever it is, whatever you want it to be—all these years. I pushed that away and I’m sorry.”

He meets her eyes, heart pounding and laid at her feet as he finishes with, “But you’re giving me a chance here; a chance to…be your friend,” he can’t help the smirk that tugs at his lips because he’s pretty certain this is well beyond friendship…but then again she did date Baelfire. He refuses to think about that now. “Or whatever and you’re letting me kiss you. You’re putting me out of years of misery here and I need you to believe me when I tell you I will never, _ever_ force you.”

 #

When Wendy voiced her fears, she certainly didn’t expect the flow of words Peter graces her with afterwards. He goes from assurance that he’d stop if she wanted to, and it eases the pool of nervousness in her stomach. She relaxes a little in his embrace, and the little, sweet kiss he places on her lips is like a balm.

His apology, sudden, sincere, leaves her speechless. He has apologized before, through text, but it’s the first time she’s ever heard him speak those words out loud. It unsettles her, reassures her - it makes her feel special, because she has a feeling that Peter Pan doesn’t say he’s sorry easily.

When he mentions being her friend, she notices the little smirk, and she smiles a little herself. To be honest, she isn’t fully sure of what this is, but she’s confident, oddly enough. This isn’t friendship - it’s more, of course. She’s not overthinking it, because nothing has ever worked the usual way with Peter, anyway. She wants him, she likes him, she’s unsure about him, and yet she’s more certain of how she feels than of most things. Everything he does, though, is a step in the right direction. She feels like he’s showing her the boy that lies beneath the edgy facade, and she’s fond of what she sees. It’s like discovering a new world, or solving a puzzle, piece by piece. For her imaginative mind, it’s a thrill.

“You’re not forcing me,” she says, shaking her head.

As always on the rollercoaster that is her time with Peter, a little thought, nervous, nagging, tears at Wendy’s sense of confidence but once again, she’s not insecure enough not to voice it. She realizes, with a jolt, that despite all expectations, somehow, Peter has gone from making her feel miserable to making her feel _safe_ , in the span of two weeks.

“But I know you’ve been with a lot of girls,” she adds. “And I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

And then, almost as an afterthought, brought from her lips by the unbearable ache of lust pulsating between her thighs, she nuzzles Peter’s jaw with her nose, her grip tightening on his waist, hips bucking towards his slightly, out of instinct.

“But I don’t want to stop,” she murmurs.

 #

Relief washes through him with her acceptance and following quickly on its heels is a burning wave of lust as she tilts her hips toward his and tells him she wants more. Her nose brushes against his jaw and her confession is a whisper of heat along his skin. He fists his hand in her hair again, just because he doesn’t force that doesn’t mean he isn’t _rough_ , and tilts her head back again.

“Good.”

He slants his mouth over hers and kisses her hard, teeth and the slippery slide of their tongues against each other. He doesn’t even let her break away to breathe, so he feels the harshness of her inhalation against his cheek and it sends a shiver down his spine. _Fuck. This girl._

When he finally pulls back, she follows him with her lips and he smirks at her glazed eyes before dropping his mouth to her clavicle. He lathes his tongue in the hollow then dips lower, trailing kisses down onto the swell of her breasts while his fingers scramble at the flimsy straps on her shoulders. He rolls them down her skin under the pad of his index finger, pressing firmly all the way down until it hangs limp and her chest is bared for him.

She’s not wearing a bra. _Fuck._ He pulls back to look at her and she’s _exquisite_. He tells her as much in a low, harsh growl before he closes his mouth around one pert, pink nipple and her head falls back, spine arching gracefully toward his mouth.

_Please don’t say stop_ , he thinks.

#

He’s kissing her again, thank god - for a second there, she was almost afraid _he_ might want to stop. She soon realizes how foolish that was, because he obviously wants her. His fingers are tangling in her hair, pulling at it, and all rational thoughts fly from her mind. There’s nothing left but a blank slate, while her body is on overdrive. His mouth travels down her collarbone, and she tenses a little when his fingers start playing with the straps of her shirt. She opens her eyes, gasping a little, because nobody has ever seen her like this.

She watches his face closely, heart pounding so hard that she wonders if he can see it, through her flesh. His expression is intoxicatingly lustful, and she feels a surge of self-satisfaction as a compliment passes his lips, an artless growl that sends a rush of heat to her waist.

Suddenly, his mouth is on her chest, and she instinctively leans her head back, pleasure coursing through her - this is new, _very new_ , and almost uncomfortable in the first little second before she feels her body respond to the touch. She still has fingers hooked into his belt loop, and her other hand grips his hair tighter than she means as she forces his head against her flesh, desperate for more.

Oh, _god_ , this feels good. It makes the ache between her legs throb. Almost forcefully, she pushes her hips forward and rocks them shamelessly, seeking out pleasure the best way she can. She feels him, hard and warm between her legs, and she grinds her core against him so vigorously that the stiff feel of his jeans almost hurt. She’s panting, lips parted, and her body feels deliciously warm in a way it never has before. She feels Peter’s teeth graze her breast and she lets out a loud, unbridled moan. Her fingers twist around the belt loop of his jeans, and she yanks him closer to her, arching her back.

“...Don’t stop,” she breathes out. “Please.”

 #

He rolls his tongue over her nipple and she matches the movement with her hips. Suddenly, the girl under him is nothing like shy. She’s eager and sexy and she so obviously wants him. Her hand twists in his hair and the twinge of pain is as much a turn-on as the pleasure of her moist core grinding against his cock.

The ultimate pleasure comes when she _begs_.

He releases her nipple and she makes a noise that sounds almost like a protest. He just starts kissing a hot line down her torso, pushing the soft green fabric of her shirt out of the way until it can’t go anymore. Not bothering to force it, pushes all the bunched fabric back up under her breast and kisses the skin above the button of her shorts. He licks at it, mouth open and wet, then he undoes it slowly. He makes sure to rub the backs of his fingers against her skin, feeling her muscles tense under his touch as he works the stiff material. Then, he ducks his head again and tugs her zip down with his teeth.

With his mouth hovering over her hot core through the open denim, he looks up and sees her watching him, propped on her elbows, golden curls wild and breasts bare.

Fuck, he could come from this alone like some inexperienced freshman.

He presses a firm kiss right over her clit. He says, “I wanna taste you, Bird.”

_#_

_Wait, no_ \- she told him not to stop, and now he’s pulling away. But he’s spreading kisses down her chest, her stomach, and she lets him, her breathing shaky and uneven. She can feel herself come undone, and honestly, she’s close to begging him to just touch her and give her what she needs. She’s more aroused than she’s ever been - not that anyone has ever touched her like _that_.

When he starts unbuttoning her shorts, she practically whimpers, because he’s doing this too slow. She’s desperate, and frankly, she doesn’t care if he knows. His knuckles brush against her, and she pushes her hips forward. He tugs her zipper down with his teeth, and she props herself up to watch him, wide-eyed - oh goddammit, that is so _hot_  she could moan. She’s so on edge that she doesn’t even feel shy about being exposed like this. He glances up at her, and there’s that thrilling look in his eye again. Her breath hitches.

When he speaks, she swallows, almost trembling, because oh god, nobody’s ever done that before, and she has no idea how to feel about it. But she finds herself nodding frantically, and a faint “Okay” passes her lips.

She’s not exactly sure how he does it so fast, but soon, her underwear is pushed to the side, and she feels his mouth, hot, warm press against where she’s never even been _touched_ before. Her elbows give out under the overwhelming novelty of the experience, and she moans so loud, half pleasured, half surprised, when he starts moving his lips, his teeth grazing against her throbbing flesh. A chorus of _oh my god oh my god oh my god_ passes through her mind, and she lies back on the hood, hands desperately seeking something to cling to. One of her hands finds his hair, and she twists her fingers through his locks, biting her lip. She has no idea what he’s doing exactly - she can feel his mouth, his teeth, his _tongue_ , and she’s a mess of whimpers and mewls and cries. Sometimes, something that sounds like his name will pass her lips, breathy, inarticulate. She makes so much sound that she can barely recognize her own voice. It shouldn’t be possible to feel this much, and yet Peter’s heated mouth breathes fire into her flesh, making her core pulsate.

Ecstasy hits her so quick that it’s almost embarrassing, but she’s so unused to this and god, there’s no way that boy hasn’t been blessed by the gods in some way. She shudders violently, crying out, and her fingers grip his hair for a few seconds. She opens her eyes wide, catching a view of the sky above her head, her body bowing upward, before her back hits the hood of the vehicle again, her body falling limp as she tries to catch her breath.

 #

He blinks because she said yes. He’s getting to do this: eat Wendy Darling out on the hood of his Jeep in public. It’s one of his wildest fantasies and it’s happening for real. _Motherfucker._

Peter isn’t stupid though. He’s not laying her out naked. Not yet. If she gets naked, he’d have to fuck her and they would probably never leave and get found, still fucking, and get arrested and…God, she makes him crazy. She makes him stupid. She makes him hard as fuck. He’s straining against his jeans, the stiff zipper causing a painful kind of friction as he shifts his hips uneasily.

He feels more aroused than he can ever remember and it’s a little terrifying. He hasn’t lost control with a girl since his first time. Somehow, he’s not surprised that it would be Wendy to completely unravel him in this too.

Because of this, his movements are rapid and a little jerky as he tugs her shorts down to her knees and parts her legs just enough to fit his mouth to her. God, she has the prettiest pink slit he’s ever seen. But he hadn’t been lying, he wants to _taste_ her. One taste and he goes a little crazy.

She drives him wild and what he does between her legs is nothing close to his best. He could do so much better but he wants to give her everything at once, wants to use all the tricks he knows and what happens is a blur of tongue and teeth and lips and the indescribable taste of Wendy.

He’s not even sure how he manages it but she tightens, arches, shudders and floods his mouth with her essence. He drinks her in and shifts his hips and _oh shit that did not just fucking happen._

He presses his face into to the crease of her thigh, lips pressed together to muffle the long, agonized moan that threatens to spill and embarrass him.

_Holy Mother of God_. Wendy _Fucking_ Darling, ladies and gentlemen: reducing Peter Pan to novice in under fifteen minutes

God, this is not how he wanted this to go _at all_. He tugs at his t-shirt, thanking god that it falls dark and long and loose so it hides any evidence of what just happened. Then he breathes deeply and stands up. The sight that greets him is almost enough to make him hard all over again. He watches Wendy, all flushed from coming, breasts bare and heaving, crotch wet with his saliva and her juices, and hair an absolute fucking mess all spread out like the most erotic hood ornament in human history and tries to burn the image in his brain forever.

She paints the sexiest picture he’s ever, ever seen. No other girl, ever, will compare.

He’s _fucked_.

Too close for comfort, a car rolls by and suddenly, she’s shy. He can tell by the way she curls to face the sea. He grabs her hands and pulls her back to a sitting position – her body is all limp and pliant and he wishes he had more time but he can’t, not with the uncomfortable mess in his pants. So he fixes her top, covering all the parts of her he unveiled with even greater reverence. When he’s done buttoning her jeans and his index finger is still inside her waistband, he tugs a little and she rocks into him. Their mouths meet, slow and tender and oddly shy.

This was probably too much, he realizes as she blushes and fixes her cardigan on her shoulders. He doesn’t regret a moment of it though, except the ending. But even then, it probably is the best ending given their odd relationship right now – whatever it is.

He does want Wendy. He wants her so badly and he’s wearing the proof of it wet and sticky inside his pants. But he wants her heart and her love as well as her body. So he kisses her slowly, helps her down onto still shaky legs and drives her quietly home. In front of her house, he gives her the proofed story from his glove compartment, knows she sees the box of condoms he’s got there, and feels his heart sink a little when she doesn’t kiss him before hopping out of the Jeep.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] so you went down on me on the hood of your car in a parking lot

[unsent text] do you do this with a lot of girls is this a habit of yours

 

[text] so

[text] that happened

[text] i feel like i should say thank you? i don’t know how this works exactly

 

[unsent text] it was really great

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] it was so fucking hot

[unsent text] you taste like heaven

 

[text] yep

[text] fuck no you don’t have to thank me

[text] thank you for letting me

 

[unsent text] on the hood of my car. fuck

[unsent text] i didn’t think you had it in you

 

[text] you’re so sexy bird

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i feel like i should thank you though?

[text] but you’re welcome :)

 

[unsent text] i’m sexy? have you seen you?

 

[text] really? thank you

[text] i’m sorry though i feel like i left you hanging

[text] i don’t want you to think i’m using you

  
[unsent text] although i’m really not complaining

 

**PETER:**

[text] if you want. you’re welcome

  
[unsent text] i’d do it again. just say the word ;)

[unsent text] fuck, let me do it again

[unsent text] i could spend all day between your legs

[unsent text] god bird the way you look when you cum

[unsent text] i came in my pants like a fucking amateur

 

[text] you’re really, really hot

[text] so sexy, bird

[text] and don’t worry about me. i handled it ;)

  
[unsent text] why the fuck am i lying to you about this?

  
**WENDY:**

[text] oh my gosh thank you

[text] i’ve never been told things like that before

[text] you’re really hot too but you already know that

  
[unsent text] did you really because i could have sworn

  
[text] okay if you say so :)

[text] still you should let me return the favor sometime

  
[unsent text] i can’t believe i just sent that

  
**PETER:**

[text] this is why we should talk more

  
[unsent text] i’ll tell you everyday

[unsent text] you’re gorgeous and sexy and perfect and i want you

[unsent text] i love you so much

[unsent text] you’re a goddess

[unsent text] ye

[unsent text] what

[unsent text] .

[unsent text]

[unsent text]

[unsent text] *picture attachment of tootles*

[unsent text] wtf am i doing?

[unsent text]

[unsent text]

[unsent text]

[unsent text] wendy darling you’re going to be the fucking death of me

  
[text] fuck bird anytime

  
**WENDY:**

[unsent text] why aren’t you answering  

[unsent text] don’t you want me t

  
[text] i’ll hold you to that

[text] hypothetically speaking

[text] what would you want me to do ?

[unsent text] what am i doing oh my god what

 

[text] i’m asking for future reference because i like being informed

[text] doing my homework like a good girl

 

[unsent to Tink] tink how does sexting work

  
**PETER:**

[unsent text] fucking hell

  
[text] hypothetically speaking?

[text] fuck me

[text] ride me until we both see stars

[text] use your hands

[text] use your mouth

[text] anything you fucking want

  
[unsent text] good girls don’t let me eat them out on the hood of my car

[unsent text] fuck bad girls don’t

 

[text] you’re a fucking wonder of the universe

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] omg omg omg omg omg omg omg

[unsent text] oh my god okay how do i even answer that

[unsent text] this is backfiring

  
[text] interesting

[text] good to know i’ll keep that in mind ;)

[text] is that a good thing?

[text] if i’m being too much of a tease i can stop

[text] except i don’t want to this is really fun

  
[unsent text to Tink] H E L P

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] god yes please do

 

[text] you do that ;)

[text] it was a compliment

[text] i s2g there’s nothing in the universe more beautiful than you when you come

[text] don’t stop

[text] don’t ever stop

[text] you’ve always been a tease. i can deal

  
**WENDY:**

[text] oh thank you? thank you

[text] i bet you’re gorgeous when you come too but i guess i’ll find out

[text] sometime

[text] really? i’ve always been a tease? how so?

[text to Tink] tink when you’re free we really need to talk because i have so many things to tell you

  
**PETER:**

[text] i love you

[text] fuck, i love all of you

[text] i love how you look when you come

[text] i love the sound of your voice and the way your hair looks in the sunlight

[text] i love how much you fight back

[text] i love how you don’t take any of my shit

[text] i love the curve of your smile and the blue of your eyes

[text] i love this sexy part of you that i never imagined

[text] god, you drive me insane

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh my god peter you just how

[unsent text] when you tell me you love me i don’t know what to do with myself

[unsent text] don’t tell me you love me i can’t say it back now i’m scared i

[unsent text] i feel like we should be friends but i don’t feel like it’s happening

[unsent text] i’m not helping oh god i didn’t think this through at all

  
[text] okay? thank you

[text] oh god that was a terrible answer to all those beautiful things i’m sorry

[text] i have no idea what i’m doing and you keep taking me by surprise with how great you are

[text] *sends picture attachment of fluffycakes hiding behind a pillow*

[text] she’s hiding because i keep hugging her for moral support and she’s suffocating

  
[unsent text] how can you love me i am the biggest dork

  
**PETER:**

[unsent text] ignore me, i’m a fucking idiot who loves you too much

  
[text] *picture attachment of tootles climbing out window*

[text] help is on the way

[text] tootles will not let his lady suffer

  
[unsent text] see what you’ve reduced me to?

  
**WENDY:**

[text] tootles is very kind

[text] fluffycakes awaits her brave knight with impatience

[text] *sends picture attachment of fluffycakes looking out the window*

[text] you’re really sweet peter

[text] not as sweet as tootles but points for the effort :)

  
[unsent text] i really like you

[unsent text] but i’m not sure i like you as much as you like me and that feels unfair to you idk

[unsent text] i always thought you’d hurt me but what if i hurt you i really don’t want to

[unsent text] but i really really like you you’re so

  
**PETER:**

[text] *picture attachment of road*

[text] tootles is fast for a bear of very little brain

[text] don’t tell  people

[text] shit killian is dragging us out to family dinner

[text] i’ll see you in school bird.

  
[unsent text] can i say i love you again?

* * *

**WENDY:**

They haven’t really spoken in a few days, except for a few texts and scarce words spoken into the hallway. They’ve exchanged smiles, though, and it’s enough to make the fluttering of Wendy’s heart grow, even if she’s trying to be sensible.

Now that she thinks about it, though, sensible went out the window during that encounter by the beach.

The memory still makes her blush, because she can’t believe she did that, she can’t believe she let him do that, so soon and in _public_. It sends a little shiver down a spine when she remembers it, and she likes it - likes the feeling of being bold, daring, fearless. Of following her instinct, and doing things she didn’t think she would have the nerve to do.

Peter makes her feel like that. She doesn’t know what they are, yet, but she’s starting to believe it might be a good thing.

Of course, the hopeful feeling doesn’t last long. It comes crashing down unexpectedly, and she ends up cursing herself for having been so stupid and _naive_ in the first place.

She’s making her way from bio class to her locker, jumbled thoughts starting to form a new story to write in her mind - it makes her happy to think about writing again. She has been so preoccupied for the last few weeks that her inspiration has been scarce, and it’s only starting to come back. She sees Peter, standing by his opened locker in the hallway, and she feels a little smile tug at her lips at the sight of him. His sleeves are rolled-up, and it twists Wendy’s heart a bit.

She’s always had a weakness for his arms.

She thinks he might turn towards her, and she’s all prepared to wave, when suddenly, a flash of red hair passes in front of her eyes. Wendy freezes. Her stomach starts churning immediately without any real reason, yet. She watches as Ariel, a pretty, popular girl she knows by name more than anything else, comes up behind Peter and wraps her arms around his shoulders, muffling a giggle against his back.

If Wendy was frozen the second before, she’s almost petrified, now. She stands at the edge of her locker, and she stops moving and swallows hard, hidden from sight by the crowd moving through the hallway. Her insides twist painfully, and nausea hits her in waves. To her utter dread, Peter doesn’t push the girl away. On the contrary, a smirk appears on his lips as he turns his head slightly, one of Ariel’s red curls brushing against his cheek. Wendy feels like she might be sick - because that smirk, that nonchalant attitude, and the smoothness of his movements is exactly what makes him _Pan_.

She _tries_ to tell herself it’s nothing. He has friends, right? Friends can be affectionate with each other. But Ariel trails her fingertips down his arm, whispering something into Peter’s ear, and the boy merely chuckles. Wendy can’t hear, but she still feels the sound reverberate in her bones. She feels like she almost hears it, that low, throaty, seductive laugh of his. There’s an intimacy to the two of them, one that runs her through like a sword. Peter’s arm starts to move up, and Wendy fears he might be on the verge of grabbing one of Ariel’s hands. She flinches, but it’s like looking at a train wreck - she can’t bring herself to look away.

Peter’s fingertips close around the redhead’s wrist loosely, and he easily twirls her around, making her face him. The girl lets out a bright, airy giggle that echoes through the hallway and leaves a ringing sound in Wendy’s ears. Ariel lightly, playfully pushes Peter’s chest, and takes a step back, leaning her back against his locker, letting go of his hand. She grins like it’s the easiest thing in the world, and the pair of them absolutely exude confidence.

In that moment, Wendy hates them both.

Ariel is so _beautiful_ \- her skin is like ivory, and the red curls that descend on her shoulders frame her face. Her eyes are bright and sea-colored, and right now, they’re fixated on Peter - there’s a light familiarity in them as she gazes up at the boy.

Wendy thinks, with a jolt through the heart, that she could never look so flirty or seductive if she _tried_. Ariel has allure, charm - and she’s just little Wendy Darling, with her sad little grey cardigan over a yellow shirt.

She exhales shakily as she notices the way Peter looks back at her - he doesn’t even notice anything else going on around him. Who can blame him, when he’s got Ariel capturing his attention ?

He gives her that smirk Wendy wishes was reserved for her, and he reaches forward, his fingertips brushing against a lock of Ariel’s hair - _no_. No, no, no, _no_ \- there is no way she’s watching this.

She leaves before she can see anything more. She doesn’t want to see - she clenches her jaw and tries to force some stillness into her stomach, despite her queasiness. She wants to throw up - she feels like she’s been punched in the gut, thrown off a cliff. And the worst part is, she set herself up for this, completely, utterly.

Bae warned her to be careful with Peter Pan.

She was the opposite of careful, and she’s paying the price, now.

She wants to curl up in a ball and cry, but she refuses to indulge into that need. She refuses to be so pathetic. Peter’s not her boyfriend - she should have _known_.

Despite her willingness to go on as if nothing happened, she ends up almost slamming into someone on her way to the bathroom. She locks herself into a stall, trying to catch her breath - she shuts her eyes tight, and tries to reason with herself, to no avail. It hurts - she knows it shouldn’t, but it does. It feels like she’s been fooled and yet, Peter promised nothing. On the contrary, she was the one to reject him, in a sense.

She hoped he’d wait, and she realizes, now, how naive that was.

Her fingertips itch all the way to the next class, and she fights the urge to text him until she can’t stand it anymore. She’s restless, she’s nauseous - she has to do something.

It’s silly of her, it’s pitiful, but she _has_ to know if there’s something between them. Even if she doesn’t think she’ll have the courage to ask.

 

[unsent text] why

[unsent text] are you sleeping with her

[unsent text] are you going to take her for a ride too

[unsent text] i’m such an idiot

[unsent text] i hate you

[unsent text] this was a big mistake i should have known

[unsent text] fuck

[unsent text] this is my fault but what was i supposed to do

[unsent text] you were just flirting like i wasn’t even there you didn’t even see me

[unsent text] i hate her and i hate you

[unsent text] i don’t think we have the same definition of love because

[unsent text] was i stupid to think you’d wait

[unsent text] i let you know you had a chance didn’t i? am i overreacting

 

[text] hey

[text] what are you up to?

 

[unsent text] i am so pathetic

  
**PETER:**

For the week after their beach trip, Peter’s days pass like most others. He spends his days in school trying to catch glimpses of Wendy in the crowd, stares at her in class, texts her casually in the afternoons and dreams of her at night.

The texting is new.

The constant hard-on he has for her isn’t.

The burning memory of her coming on his face is new.

The jerking off to fantasies of her coming on his cock aren’t.

He can’t believe that actually happened. Peter believes a lot of things but that he would be so lucky, that Wendy would let him eat her out, in public, on the hood of his jeep. Fuck, just thinking about it makes him harden. He spends his time alternating between relishing the memory of her arched back and thinking of Killian in a dress.

He’d been right when he thought it was too much though. After everything, they haven’t really made any progress. He’s been more explicit and, in her own way, she’s told him she’s willing to consider him. It’s more than he expected after his…well there isn’t really another word for it, breakdown in the Chem Lab. They’re floating in an odd, awkward space of not-exactly-friends and almost-more and we-got-to-third-base-once. It’s a mindfuck but he’s willing to endure it if it’s for Wendy.

On Friday, he doesn’t see her at all in the morning. Not even in the hallways between classes. It itches at him, her absence, and he keeps looking around for her everywhere. In the moments before his last class before lunch, he’s at his locker when he feels feminine arms drape over his shoulders. For a single hopeful second, he thinks it might be _her_ , as utterly unlikely as it is.

Then he sees red and smells a familiar perfume that always reminds him of the ocean and his hopes sink. He’s not unhappy to see Ariel though. She’s always fun, always flirty, and they have a good, no-strings-attached sort of friends-with-benefits thing going on.

As they talk about the photography job she and Tink are bribing him to do for the yearbook, it becomes obvious that she’s angling for company tonight. She’s all sultry eyes and husky whispers and he’s tempted,  honestly, because she’s a great fuck. She really is. But he feels wrong thinking of anybody but Wendy now. He so close to what he’s always wanted and he knows instinctively that he can’t settle for anything else; even if what he’d be settling for is the fucking princess of the school.

He keeps their conversation light but makes himself unavailable; tries to turn her down easily with a hand in on her hair and an appreciative smirk. Ariel is cool with the rejection, as always, but disappointed. It’s a stroke to his ego, of course, that she wants _him_ out of all her choices. But _he_ wants _Wendy_ more than all of his.

He eventually promises more help with the yearbook and she saunters away. He shakes his head at her taunting then raises his eyes to scan the crowd, just once more, for a familiar head of blonde hair. He doesn’t see anything so he heads with heavy feet to class.

His phone vibrates in the middle of some dumb video the teacher has opted for while she grades papers. He ducks his head to hide the silly grin that splits his face when he sees who the text is from. He’s _missed_ her.

 

[text] hey. bored as fuck

[text] env sci teacher sucks balls

[text] u?

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] trying not to cry in class

 

[text] nothing much

[text] how’s your day going

  
[unsent text] i hate you so much how do you make me so miserable so suddenly

 

**PETER:**

[text] slow

[text] can’t wait to see you tho

[text] calc after lunch

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] yeah right after all why stop at one girl a day

[unsent text] that was bitchy sorry

[unsent text] wait what am i apologizing for this didn’t send what

 

[text] right

[text] good luck with that

[text] wait this wasn’t meant to be sent

[text] ignore it

 

**PETER:**

[text] u ok?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yeah

[text] actually no

[text] i’m not

 

**PETER:**

[text] what’s wrong?

[text] does tootles need to get his sword?

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] how dare you involve tootles in this

[text] what’s wrong is that

[text] ariel

[text] that’s what’s wrong

 

[unsent text] god i sound like a jealous girlfriend what’s wrong with me

  
[text] oh god just ignore all that leave it

 

[unsent text] let me try to get away with some dignity

 

**PETER:**

[text] no way

[text] ariel do something to you?

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] are you playing dumb or are you just blind

 

[text] no she didn’t

[text] just leave it alone okay she didn’t do anything

[text] it’s fine just forget about it

[text] i have no right to be upset you can do whatever you want

 

**PETER:**

[text] woah hold on

[text] do what i want?

[text] what are you talking about?

[text] why are you upset with me and apparently ariel?

  
**WENDY:**

[text] i’m not upset

[text] okay i’m upset

[text] i saw you in the hallway but it’s fine

[text] we’re not dating so you’re a free agent

[text] i know lots of girls like you so

[text] and ariel is really pretty

 

[unsent text] prettier than me so i don’t blame you

[unsent text] except that i do i’m selfish and i don’t want you to see other girls

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] we could be

 

[text] bird what are you talking about?

[text] what did you see in the hallway?

[text] what does that have to do with anything?

[text] and yeah, she is. you’re prettier

 

**WENDY:**

[text] are you trying to make his harder for me?

[text] you were flirting it was so obvious

[text] and there’s no way i’m prettier than her she’s gorgeous

 

[unsent text] i never liked her i don’t know why i’m an idiot

 

[text] so have all the fun you want in your jeep or whatever it’s none of my business obviously

[text] you can get any girl you want so why limit yourself

 

**PETER:**

[text] no?

 

[unsent text] shit you saw that

[unsent text] god are you jealous

[unsent text] can i be happy about this

 

[text] i think you’re gorgeous. you’re the most beautiful girl i’ve ever seen in my life ok

[text] and i’m sorry

[text] she’s like that

[text] but you KNOW i don’t want her right?

[text] wtf wendy

[text] if i can get any girl i want then why can’t i have you?

[text] you’re the only one i want

 

**WENDY:**

[text] no i don’t know you don’t want her i don’t know that at all

[text] and don’t say SHE’s like that you were flirting with her i saw you

[text] if i’m the only one you want then why

[text] you know what never mind i just

[text] just fucking forget it

 

[unsent text] i asked you not to hurt me god you ate me out on top of your car DAYS ago

[unsent text] what is wrong with you

[unsent text] what is wrong with me

[unsent text] i need TIME i thought you understood that

 

**PETER:**

[text] ok. i did flirt with her a little

[text] but it’s not like

[text] you know what? ariel isn’t important

[text] so

[text] let me make this clear: i want YOU. ONLY YOU.

[text]  you’re the only girl i ever really wanted

 

[unsent text] tell me you know that you’re it for me

[unsent text] why do you think i fought you so hard

[unsent text] i want your forever

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] if you only want me don’t flirt with other girls

[text] are you sleeping with her?

[text] i mean is this a thing that’s going on right now?

 

**PETER:**

[text] no

[text] not at all

 

[unsent text] have some fucking faith in me will ya

  
**WENDY:**

[text] okay good

[text] because don’t

[text] don’t please i don’t want you to

[text] i know it’s selfish and we’re not together but don’t sleep with other girls while we’re

 

[unsent text] could i be any more pathetic

  
[text] idk maybe we should just

 

[unsent text] maybe it was a mistake to go fast maybe i should have thought this through

 

[text] nevermind

 

**PETER:**

[text] ok

[text] ok i won’t

 

[unsent text] while we’re not dating?

[unsent text] date me

[unsent text] please

[unsent text] be my girlfriend

 

[text] no not nevermind

[text] be selfish about it, bird

[text] want me like i want you

[text] god, wendy, be my girlfriend

[text] please

[text] don’t make me beg

 

**WENDY:**

[text] thank you

 

[unsent text] i do want you but

 

[text] peter i don’t know okay I DON’T KNOW i’m sorry i don’t know

[text] i like you and i want you but you scare me you terrify me you

[text] i feel like i’m never on solid ground with you because i never know what i’m going to do or what you’re going to do i am so scared

[text] i don’t want to tell you no but i need TIME can you give me time

[text] i know you love me but a month ago i thought you hated me and now it’s like

[text] it seems like you love me a lot and it feels unfair to you

[text] please tell me you get it

  
**PETER:**

[unsent text] no don’t do this to me

[unsent text] fuck i’m sorry

[unsent text] god wendy please don’t do this to me i cant

[unsent text] fuck im in class wendy dont

  
[text] i get it

[text] time is ok

 

[unsent text] i don’t fucking care if its unfair to me i just want you

[unsent text] any which way you’ll give me

 

[text] i do love you a lot

[text] more than i

[text] nevermind

[text] i’ve never really hated you

[text] sorry if i scared you

[text] friends?

 

[text to felix] i need alcohol bro

[text to felix] fucking wendy fucking darling

[text to felix] she want to be friends. fml

[text to felix] i cant do this shit anymore

 

[drafted text to ariel] you busy later?

  
**WENDY:**

[text] i know you didn’t hate me i know that now

[text] i didn’t mean scared like actually scared of you

[text] i’m just scared i don’t know why

[text] i’m sorry i’m an idiot

[text] friendship is good for now

[text] as long as we see each other and talk because i like it when we text

[text] i like talking to you a lot and i like being around you

[text] but i broke up with bae so recently and it feels so fast

[text] i’m rambling i’ll stop

 

**PETER:**

[text] wendy anything you say to me is important

[text] let’s do the friendship thing

[text] are you busy tonight?

[text] tink is gonna be over to do some project with felix

[text] we have free pizza and a movie after

[text] you in? i can pick you up

 

[text to felix] i’m inviting friend-wendy for pizza with you and tink tonight fml

  
**WENDY:**

[text] yes i’d love that :)

[text] i’ll text you later

[text] thank you

 

[unsent text] i lo

[unsent text] what did i almost type wtf is wrong with me

 

[text] see you tonight :)

* * *

**PETER:**

[text] bird you forgot your binder at mine last night

[text] nice writing ;)

[text] vague though

  
**WENDY:**

[text] what?

 

[unsent text] OH GOD OH GOD NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

[unsent text] NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO FUCK

  
[text] which one exactly did you read?

 

[unsent text] I AM DYING PLEASE DON’T SAY WHAT I THINK YOU WILL SAY

[unsent text] LET THIS BE A NIGHTMARE

 

**PETER:**

[text] the one you tried to hide at the back of the folder

[text] the guy’s name was Pit

[text] girl named Maura

[text] they had a treehouse

[text] ring a bell?

 

[unsent text] fuck bird if i didn’t know better

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh god no of course you’d read the DIRTY thing

 

[text] oh

[text] you read that one

[text] excuse me while i go flee the country and change my name

  
[unsent text] did you notice any simila

[unsent text] why why why would you read that

  
**PETER:**

[text] you do that

[text] you might want to get a bit more creative than maura tho

[text] god bird when did you write this?

 

[unsent text] shit i didn’t mean

[unsent text] screw it

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] shit

 

[text] excuse me wtf is that supposed to mean

[text] maura is a perfectly normal name

[text] idk i wrote it like a few months ago why does it matter

[text] you had no right to read this btw

[text] *sends picture of fluffycakes holding a kitchen knife*

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] it means i see right through you

[unsent text] fuck bird, tell me you wanted me

[unsent text] tell me you’ve wanted me as much as i’ve wanted you

  
[text] nothing nothing ;)

[text] you’re lucky i’m not invoking finders keepers

[text] tootles is oddly turned on by that

[text] *picture of tootles with a pillow over his legs*

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] you are so

 

[text] don’t send me winky faces at a time like this i just

[text] um what do you mean lucky it’s my story erase it from your mind right now peter pan

[text] …are you implying that your stuffed bear has an erection

[text] you are such a dork oh my god

 

**PETER:**

[text] sorry. doesn’t work that way

 

[unsent text] even if i could, i wouldn’t

[unsent text] god is this how you want me to

[unsent text] i’m the one with the fucking erection

 

[text] stuff it, nerd

[text] your unicorn is a tease

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] no but seriously i can’t believe you

 

[text] stuff it, nerd? are we resorting to name-calling, douchecanoe?

[text]fluffycakes is offended

[text]take it back right now

[text] *sends another picture attachment of fluffycakes with a knife*

 

[unsent text] did you like the story

  
**PETER:**

[text] wtf is a douchecanoe?

[text] tootles will not recant

[text] he is the victim here

[text] *picture of tootles face down on the floor*

 

[unsent text] did you imagine it was you and me?

[unsent text] fuck have you ever

 

**WENDY:**

[text] a douchecanoe is a canoe full of douchery floating on a river of douchitude

[text] maybe if he says cute things to fluffycakes she will send him a nicer picture

[text] if i ask you something do you promise not to make fun of me?

 

**PETER:**

[text] cute. you kiss your mother with that mouth?

[text] tootles thinks her horn is exquisite

[text] fine. i promise to behave

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] not even going to touch that one

[text] you are so witty

[text]*sends picture attachment of fluffycakes*

[text] okay but if you make fun of me i will castrate you

[text] i mean it

[text] did you like the story

[text] i mean was it really bad

 

**PETER:**

[text] i am

[text] *picture of tootles with a soda*

 

[unsent text] but how will you return the favour?

[unsent text] coulda just said you wanted to touch me

 

[text] noted

[text] i did. you write really well bird

[text] it was vague in parts but it was

[text] compelling

[text] and emotive

 

**WENDY:**

[text] wait you thought it was good?

[text] oh well ok thank you i

[text] i was expecting you to make fun anyway you caught me off guard

[text] was it hot?

[text] NO wait i didn’t ask that ignore that

 

[unsent text] i thought of you when i wrote that oh gosh and now you read it

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah. you’re a good writer darling

[text] wouldn’t be surprised if you won that contest thing you entered

[text] you told me not to

 

[unsent text] fuck yes

[unsent text] lemme give you a practical demonstration of how hot it is

 

[text] yeah it was

[text] didn’t know you had it in you

[text] actually i did

[text] fuck sorry that wasn’t supposed to send

[text] shit

[text] it was hot ok

 

**WENDY:**

[text] thank you that’s sweet

 

[unsent text] what can i say you inspire me

[text] ok good i’m glad you thought so

[text] thank you

[text] so you know my darkest secret now you read the treehouse story

 

**PETER:**

[text] just truth

[text] your darkest secret?

[text] this is your darkest secret?

[text] what are you not telling me about this story, bird?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] NOTHING

[text] why would you think there’s more to the story?

[text] isn’t the fact that i wrote something erotic enough i mean

 

[unsent text] i should really think before i text

  
**PETER:**

[text] nope

[text] spill

[text] what are you hiding?

 

[unsent text] you can’t text me words like erotic bird fuck

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you really don’t want to know trust me

 

[unsent text] the answer might frustrate you

  
**PETER:**

[text] i really do

[text] promise i won’t laugh

[text] i swear on tootles

[text] *picture of peter holding tootles looking earnest*

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh god you are so handsome stop it

 

[text] you are using tootles against me that is low

[text] fine

[text] that story was sort of inspired by real people okay

[text] and i’m pretty sure you can figure out the rest yourself

  
[unsent text to Tink] HELP ME

  
**PETER:**

[text] no regrets

  
[unsent text] i knew it

[unsent text] fuck bird please let me

[unsent text] i want you so bad fuck

 

[text] i can

[text] a few months ago?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yeah a few months ago

[text] maybe even before that

[text] the real life person has been an inspiration for a while

 

[unsent text] there

  
**PETER:**

[unsent text] fuck bird really?

[unsent text] fuck fuck fuck

[unsent text] god damn it wendy you make me so hard

 

[text] how long wendy?

 

[unsent text] please tell me how long

 

**WENDY** :

[text] idk exactly

[text] first year of high school probably

[text] i mean i wasn’t thinking about THAT then but i

[text] i’m not even sure what we’re talking about anymore tbh

[text] but yeah it’s been a while

 

[unsent text] i’ve liked you for a long time and it was hell most of the time except when it wasn’t

  
**PETER:**

[text] fuck wendy i

 

[unsent text] i’ve always liked you

[unsent text] from the moment i saw you, you were it for me

 

[text] i don’t think there’ll ever be anyone else

[text] fuck shit

[text] that wasn’t

[text] fuck. so much for being friends

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] i was never able to get you out of my head either

 

[text] i didn’t mean to upset you

[text] but it’s true i mean i’ve always

[text] you know

[text] but i do want to be friends

[text] for now because my mind needs to catch up with my heart

[text] it’s like i’m getting to know you at last and it feels really good to me

[text] i like everything you’ve shown me lately, i really do

[text] am i making any sort of sense here?

  
**PETER:**

[text] always?

[text] yeah, i get it

[text] you are

[text] and i mean it, every time i say it

[text] that i you know

[text] fuck wendy, always?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yes. always

[text] and i know

[text] listen i have to go but i’ll talk to you soon okay?

[text] *sends picture attachment of wendy hugging fluffycakes*

[text] here virtual hug

 

**PETER:**

[text] always

[text] everyday

[text] since the first day i saw you

[text] cool. later

[text] you’re gorgeous bird

* * *

**WENDY:**

[text] do you bake?

[text] i’m sorry random question but i was making cookies with my mom and then i thought

[text] i wonder if peter bakes and then the thought sort of nagged at me and now i really want to know

[text] you don’t seem like a baker but you are full of surprises so i am asking you

[unsent text] i also really wanted to text you

 

**PETER:**

[text] nope. killian banned me from the kitchen

[text] except at breakfast i make excellent eggs

[text] what kind of cookies?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] he banned you? i sense a story there

[text] do you make pancakes?

[text] PANcakes

[text] chocolate chip and they are delicious

[text] *sends picture of plate of cookies on the counter*

  
**PETER:**

[text] there may have been sirens

[text] in my defence it was only smoke not fire

[text] i’m going to kill felix

[text] or just flush his tic tacs down the toilet

[text] *picture attachment of tootles and a glass of milk*

  
**WENDY:**

[text] omg peter you are dangerous

[text] no don’t kill felix because if you do

[text] tink will be really sad

[text] oh hi tootles! fluffycakes says hi

[text] unfortunately she is not available for pics she is getting beauty sleep

  
**PETER:**

[text] you have no idea

[text] are you sure?

[text] i might be doing her a favour

[text] tootles says she doesn’t need any but ok

  
**WENDY:**

[text] oh shush you’d be lost without your little felix and we all know it

[text] don’t even try

[text] tootles is smooth

[text] i wonder where he learned that

 

**PETER:**

[text] we have very different definitions of little bird

[text] ok fine. she’s stuck with him

[text] he’s a model. he gets around

[text] but his heart has been stolen now so he’s pining

[text] its so fluffy i think i’m gonna die

 

**WENDY:**

[text] aww that’s adorable

[unsent text] omg could you get any cuter?

[text] IT’S SO FLUFFYYYY

[text] peter pan you are such a dork i swear to god

[text] you’re a master of disguise i never saw that coming

  
**PETER:**

[text] can’t get by on good looks alone

[text] what did you think i was

[text] other than a douchebag

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] you could

[text] idk? a dangerous bad boy, james-dean style?

[text] a smooth criminal?

[text] anything but a teddy-bear photographer tbh

[text] but it’s a good surprise :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] who says i’m not

[text] michael jackson or alien ant farm?

[unsent text] only for you

[text] *picture attachment of tink and felix*

[text] *picture attachment of birds in flight*

[text] *picture attachment of sunrise*

[text] i’ve got more than teddy bears

 

**WENDY:**

[text] both

[text] wow

[text] peter those are beautiful pictures!

[text] do you have more?

[text] i love the birds one it’s gorgeous!

 

**PETER:**

[text] good answer

[text] thanks but

 

[unsent text] most of the best are of you

  
[text] i can show you better ones next time we do pizza

[text] got a better camera for christmas

[text] that’s kinda vain of you

[text] *picture attachment of school fund raiser featuring wendy off center*

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yes i would love to see more

 

[unsent text] and now you’re an artist too send help

[unsent text]next thing you’ll tell me you play guitar or something you are so unfair

 

[text] hey! not my fault you call me bird

[text] why do you call me bird btw i always wondered

[text] oh i remember this!! that picture looks very professional!

[text] i also look very nice in it i guess i AM vain :)

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] because you make my heart soar

[unsent text] because you make it flutter

[unsent text] because you always fly out of reach

  
[text] not telling

[text] thanks. tink is on yearbook committee so

 

[unsent text] you should be vain

  
[text] still baking?

  
**WENDY:**

[text] oh come on!!! please? tell me

[text] you’re taking pictures for the yearbook? really?i didn’t know that!!

 

[unsent text toTink] tink why don’t you tell me things

  
[text] no but i am eating cookies and pretending to do homework

[text] but really i am texting you and watching old episodes of merlin shhh

  
**PETER:**

[text] nope

[text] maybe someday when you’ve earned it

[text] i didn’t volunteer

[text] tink and ariel blackmailed me

[text] you’re a bad girl, wendy darling

[text] that girl who played morgana is hot

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] what do i need to do to earn it?

 

[text] ugh fine!

[text] blackmail? with what exactly

[text] don’t tell anyone remember still trying to take over the world shush

[text] she is so pretty i know!

[text] but i’m more of a gwaine girl you can have morgana

 

[unsent text] except you can’t because of reasons

  
**PETER:**

[text] why would i give you that information for free?

[text] i’ll trade you

[text] a secret for a secret

[text] yes yes ur evil plot

 

[unsent text] so fucking cute

  
[text] if you like tall dark and passable

  
**WENDY:**

[text] oooooh interesting

[text] fine ask me something and in exchange you tell me why you call me bird

[text] passable excuse you he is a knight

 

[unsent text] but he’s not as cute as you

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] could you fall in love with me? for real?

 

[text] you haven’t earned the bird story

[text] my secret is a talent

[text] you have one of those?

[text] what is it with you and these floppy-haired fuckers

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh i WILL get that story peter pan

[text] mmm…writing maybe?

[text] I make kick-ass flower crowns

[text] floppy-what what? who are you calling that?

[text] because gwaine has a sword okay he will find you

 

[unsent text] also if that is a reference to bae don’t even

 

**PETER:**

[text] try me

[text] not secret. read your story already

[text] you gotta do better bird

[text] people. i’m starting to think you have a type

 

[unsent text] oh you like swords? i’ve got

  
[text] i repeat try me

  
**WENDY:**

[text] okay fine

 

[unsent text] i do have a type apparently it’s the smug ones

  
[text] you know nothing of my type, Peter Pan!

[text] fine. okay then speaking of swords

[text] i can fence

[text] surprise

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] floppy-haired and not me

 

[text] obvious

[text] what really? like in the olympics?

[text] that’s fucking cool bird

[text] im impressed

[text] why fencing?

  
**WENDY:**

[text] thank you :)

[text] when i was young i wanted to be a pirate so fencing was required

[text] i had lessons and all but it’s been a little while since i practiced

[text] there now you know so spill!

 

**PETER:**

[text] you wanted to be a pirate?

[text] probably shoulda kept that more secret than the fencing tbh

 

[unsent text] how are you even real

  
[text] i can play the flute

[text] they found killian’s videos of my recitals

  
**WENDY:**

[text] i am not ashamed of my ambitions

[text] pirates are cool as hell okay

  
[unsent text] OH GOD NO you’re a musician no

  
[text] omg really??

[text] that sounds amazing i’d love to hear you play

 

[unsent text] i might pass out but okay

  
[text] how old are you on the videos

[text] are you all young and adorable because if so i need to see that soon

  
**PETER:**

[text] pirates are historically drunk and stink

[text] now there’s a thought

[text] drunk wendy darling

[text] yes really

[text] i am man of many talents ;)

 

[unsent text] shit that sounds dirty

[unsent text] fuck it i’ve already eaten your pussy

[unsent text] can’t get more sexual than that

 

[text] i started at 5

[text] nope

**WENDY:**

[text] drunk wendy darling isn’t something you’ll get to see for a long time

 

[unsent text] won’t argue with that

  
[text] you are so cocky

[text] 5!!!! omg

[text] you must have been the cutest thing i need to see that

[text] i’ll bribe Felix if i have to

[text] maybe i’ll hide his mints i’ve been told it’s effective

 

**PETER:**

[text] pity

[text] maybe we’ll have pizza and beer next time

 

[unsent text] you have no idea what i can do with my cock

[unsent text] fuck. friends. right

  
[text] i know you think i’m cute

[text] i’ll hide his tink

[text] i’ll win

 

**WENDY:**

[text] ew not beer

[text] i do think you’re cute

[text] ok that wasn’t meant to be sent but it’s not like you didn’t know that already SO let’s move on

[text] OH going for the tink. that’s low

[text] you win. dammit

[text] i still want to see those videos or hear you play but preferably both

 

**PETER:**

[text] ok not beer. what’s your poison bird?

  
[unsent text] that’s not fair bird you can’t send me shit like that

  
[text] you know what i think about you

[text] of course i win

[text] peter pan never fails

  
[unsent text] would the videos earn me points?

  
[text] fine

[text] i have an exam coming up in a month

[text] you can listen to me practice sometime

  
[unsent text] the things i do for you woman

  
**WENDY:**

[text] i don’t drink much tbh

[text] tink made me try a few things i liked though

[text] peter pan is a smug little shit who will have to lose SOMETIME

[text] you’ll see

[text] really????? yes yes yes yes yes yes

  
[unsent text] i l

  
[text] *sends picture attachment of fluffycakes*

[text] the star is awake

 

**PETER:**

[text] what did you like?

[text] is that a challenge darling?

 

[unsent text] i make you say that a lot ;)

 

[text] sure why not

[text] *picture attachment of tootles with a flower*

[text] tootles has a gift

 

**WENDY:**

[text] not telling i don’t want you to see me drunk

[text] it is a challenge indeed, pan

[text] fluffycakes is much pleased

[text] *picture of fluffycakes staring straight into the camera*

  
**PETER:**

[text] not fun

[text] come at me bird

 

[unsent text] well, you already did but

  
[text] *picture attachment of tootles with head down, arms up, Peter’s hands holding him in position*

[text] he can’t even with her beauty

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] already did

 

[text] nope

  
[unsent text] oh my god peter warn a girl before you show your forearms god why

[unsent text to tink] tink i have a problem it’s called peter pan has forearms help

  
[text] *picture attachment of fluffycakes hiding her face with her paws, Wendy’s hands holding them*

[text] fluffycakes is blushing

 

**PETER:**

[unsent text] i want to kiss you so bad wendy

[unsent text] i know we’re doing this friends thing but

[unsent text] i fall more and more in love with you all the fucking time

[unsent text] it isn’t fair i think i do hate you sometimes

 

[text] spoilsport

[text] *picture attachment of tootles at the window*

[text] he’s trying to leave again. he wants to see her

 

[text] i can play for you tomorrow if you wanna come over

[text] killian will be tending his roses as usual

[text] i can bribe him into getting us take-out

 

**WENDY:**

[text] tootles is adorable fluffycakes is flattered

[text]*sends picture of fluffycakes looking out the window*

  
[unsent text] yes yes i want to see you

  
[text] sure! sounds like fun i could bring fluffycakes so tootles doesn’t run away from home

[text] roses?

[text] you don’t have to bribe him i can bring food

  
**PETER:**

[text] thanks. hate to have to report him missing

[text] he has a garden idefk

[text] are you kidding? he’d kill me if i let a guest bring food

[text] chinese?

[text] *picture of tootles staring at the clock*

[text] tootles can’t wait

 

[unsent text] neither can i

 

[text] i might kiss you again jsyk

[text] shit i wasn’t going to send that

[text] sorry

 

**WENDY:**

[text] chinese sounds good

[text] aw tootles fluffycakes is also very excited

 

[unsent text] oh god what do i do why

 

[text] it’s okay

[text] don’t apologize it’s fine

 

[unsent text] i want you to kiss me but

  
**PETER:**

[text] cool. do you need a ride?

  
[unsent text] i’ll drive you anywhere

[unsent text] it isn’t fine

[unsent text] what game are we playing? i don’t know the rules and i hate it

[unsent text] god damn it if i kiss you it’s your fault

 

**WENDY:**

[text] if you don’t mind?

[unsent text] as long as it doesn’t end like last time that was a bit much omg

 

**PETER:**

[text] no prob. around 2?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] perfect!!

[unsent text] can’t wait

[text] text me tomorrow before you pick me up :)

* * *

  **PETER:**

[text] hey bird

[text] i’m on my way

[text] you ready for this talent?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yay!

[text] i was born ready

[text] see you soon

 

**PETER:**

Peter grins at his phone as he turns the key in the ignition. Seriously, this girl is too cute for life. He’s pleasantly excited at the prospect of spending more time with Wendy but tries to quell it on the drive over. They’re _friends_ now, however that’s supposed to work. He supposes they won’t kiss this time and as disappointed as that thought makes him, he thinks of the many conversations they’ve had recently and takes comfort in the fact that Wendy has admitted that she likes him _like_ -likes him, as infantile as that clarification may be. She likes what she’s getting to know about him and he just...every new thing he learns about her seems better than the last.

The drive from his house to hers is even shorter with the empty Sunday afternoon roads. He makes it in ten minutes but she’s already on the porch, looking casual and adorable with Fluffycakes wrapped in her arms.

She beams when she sees him and he gets out to open her door as she makes her way down the walkway toward the Jeep. Holding the door open, he quirks an eyebrow at her passenger when she’s close enough to see.

“Surprise for Tootles?” he asks.

#

Really, Wendy shouldn’t be this excited for a casual afternoon hang-out - but it’s Peter and lately, as hopelessly romantic as it sounds, he’s all she can think about. He occupies her thoughts, not in a painful way, but a lot of things remind her of him. The thought of him makes butterflies spread their wings in her stomach, and whenever he texts her, she finds herself grinning like an idiot and eager to hide her smiles into a pillow.

He’s just so _sweet_. Who knew?

This friendship thing is much harder than she thought, but she tries to be sensible and reasonable. God knows she’s been impulsive enough lately. She considers herself lucky Bae’s still her friend, and that she didn’t, somehow, smother Peter’s feelings for her. She really doesn’t want to screw things up again, but she’s letting herself relax again, slowly.

When Peter shows up, she’s already outside, impatient despite herself. Her smile is bright as the sun, and her heart flutters when he, once again, opens the door for her. Peter Pan, secret gentleman. An insane urge to kiss his cheek takes her, but she doesn’t follow it. When he glances at Fluffycakes, she nods.

“I told you I would bring her,” she says.  “Can’t keep Tootles away from his lady for too long."

She brings up the stuffed unicorn, brushing the horn playfully against Peter’s nose, grinning, and she gets into the Jeep, closing the passenger door behind her.

#

When the unicorn brushes against his nose, he gets hit with a waft of Wendy’s scent as it lingers all over the unicorn’s plush body.

“Tootles’ll be very happy to see her,” he says as he closes the door on her.

Their ride is short and uneventful. They catch up, as much as two people who text as much as they do need to. What comes out of the conversation though, is that Killian is gardening and Felix is, as always, with Tink somewhere. She launches into an impassioned speech about the two blondes and their obvious affection for each other. She laments their denial all the way up the stairs to the attic.

When he smirks at her calling Felix a douchecanoe for not making a proper move, he smirks at her and throws open the door to his private music haven.

“Welcome to Neverland,” he tells her with a little flourish.

#

Wendy likes Peter’s house - she’s liked it ever since she came there for the first time. She catches a glimpse of the garden, behind the house, but not much more from it. She is, however, amused by the fact that Peter’s uncle is apparently very passionate about his gardening. It’s a cute image, even if she’s never met the man.

She follows Peter upstairs - she’s only been downstairs, the last time around, and, as she talks, she takes in her surroundings distractedly. She’s not exactly where they’re going. She briefly wonders if he’s taking her to his bedroom, and it sends a little jolt through her, but they move towards what seems to be the attic, and she glances at Peter as he opens the door.

_Neverland._ Wow. Has a nice ring to it.

Peter opens the door, and it’s like stepping into a magical realm. Attics exude mystery in general, and this one is no exception, although it’s furnished nicely, with a modern touch. But the light shimmers from the window, sending little drops of sun sparkling through the dust, and Wendy’s eyes gleam with curiosity, wonder and excitement. She’s so enchanted that she misses the little step right after the door - her ankle twists a little, and she gasps. She feels her weight shift, and she thinks she’s going to fall.

But of course, she barely has time to try to hold on to the doorway when she feels two strong arms wrap around her, keeping her from falling - Peter caught her.

#

He watches carefully as she takes in his most private sanctuary. Felix and Killian are granted entrance by virtue of residence but Wendy – Wendy is the first person he’s ever brought up here to hang out. She’s the first outsider he’s ever let in and he’s a little nervous. She looks completely taken though and something inside of him swells with pride her appreciation of his space.

Yes, it’s his space. He put this place together himself. Maybe Felix helped. A little.

She raises her foot to enter. It feels like it is worthy of ritual, some sacred moment between them, ancient and revered and recurrent in all their incarnations. God, she has him waxing poetic in his own head.

And then she trips. He reacts immediately; body moving forward and arms wrapping around her off-kilter form instinctively. She falls softly into him, a bundle of hair and sweet apple scent. He turns his face into her hair for a just a moment as she catches her feet in his arms. Then she turns her face up to him and he already wants to kiss her.

This was not the plan. They are doing the friends thing. _Friends._

He can do this.

He blinks and steps back but holds his hand out to her nonetheless. “Come on, Bird.”

#

Peter catches her so easily that it seems like he’s done this a million times before. She fits so effortlessly in his arms, and her breath catches as she regains her balance, heart pounding, both from the near fall and the warmth of Peter’s embrace. She glances up at him, and he’s so closer to her than he’s been since their moment by the beach. It’s enough to make her blush, but the heat she feels pooling in her stomach is soft, almost subdued. It’s laced with a fluttering, and rushes of affection.

Would it be so bad if she kissed him, right now?

He doesn’t give her the chance to think it through, which is probably good - he steps back, looking a little dazed. She composes herself and glances down at his offered hand. She takes it, and follows him inside the attic.

Her hand fits so well inside his that she wonders, for a moment, why she’s even bothering holding off on the inevitable.

They aren’t _friends_.

“This place is great,” she comments, unable to keep the admiration from her voice. “I love it. It feels like there should be a magical wardrobe somewhere."

#

“Wrong fairy tale,” he replies with a grin, hand squeezing hers lightly in some sort of physical effort at teasing. It does nothing but make him more aware of her softness of her skin against his and the perfect way her hand fits in his. Seriously, it’s like they were made for each other. Fuck anyone who tells him that’s a girly idea. He thinks that what feels for Wendy has to be more than normal. He’s been too taken with her from day one. There’s more than attraction, it’s more than a pull – it’s a draw. An actual hauling of his heart toward her and it takes all of his effort to keep distance between them in this intimate space.

He gives the grand tour: sofa, window, floor, closet in the back – no Narnia. He's checked.

Her binder full of stories is lying on the round coffee table in front of the sofa on top of stacks of his music. Over by the window is his music stand. He still works with paper sheets rather than his iPad. There’s something about the flow of staves on a page he prefers. His flute case rests across the seat of the bay window.  He lets go of her hand in the middle of it all and moves to start warming up while she looks around.

He’s hardly surprised when she wanders toward the bookshelf half-hidden in a darker corner.

#

She feels a sense of loss when he lets go of her hand, and it only deepens the growing feeling that, whatever this is, this isn’t friendship. She knows what friendship is, and it doesn’t feel like this. Of course, her friendship with Bae developed into more, but it wasn’t like that - it was more as though they fell into a relationship more by accident than anything else. There was no pull, there was no tug at her heart beckoning her towards him - she wasn’t hyper aware of his presence the way she is with Peter.

If she wasn’t so determined on being sensible about this, she might say that _she’s in love with him._

She pushes back the thought, distracting herself, taking a little breath as she finds herself drawn to the bookshelf. She lets her fingers graze the edge of the books, brushing off some dust. She grins when she stumbles upon an old copy of _Wuthering Heights._ There are actually quite a few books she recognizes in there. She smiles to herself, until her attention is drawn to a frame, on the edge of the shelf, in front of an encyclopedia volume.

In the picture, there’s a good-looking couple in a garden. The woman is holding a toddler in her arms.  It’s a gorgeous picture - the light and the background are perfect. The boy is grinning, and Wendy recognizes the eyes, the smile. Her heart stops a little - that’s Peter. She knows his parents are dead, of course, but she hardly knows the details of it. She bites her lip and fights back a question, because she doesn’t want to pry. Instead, she forces a smile and turns towards Peter, who’s standing by the window, readying himself to play.

“Nice collection,”she says. And then, before she can stop herself, she adds. “...And that picture is beautiful."

#

He looks up when she speaks and shrugs a little at her comment about his collection. She knows he reads. But it is a little telling, the titles on your bookshelves. He wonders if she notices which spines are the most worn. Did she see how worn out his copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales is?

Then she mentions the photo. He had forgotten that was there, too taken by the idea of Wendy being in his attic. He probably would have left it but the unexpected compliment throws him and he stops his meticulous cleaning to glance over at the frame by her shoulder. While he managed to deal with a lot of his feelings about his parents last year, it never stops being difficult.

“Thanks,” he manages tightly. “My Dad took it.”

Then, because he wants to get off that topic, he twirls his flute and points the end toward the sofa.

“Sit,” he instructs playfully. “You wanted to hear me play and I need to practice.”

He averts his gaze, and his voice is tight - oh, his demeanor is neutral enough but to Wendy, he looks like he needs a hug. She wishes she could give him one, but he doesn’t give her the time. She almost regrets asking, but she wants to know - she wants to know him, she wants to discover how he feels about his life, about his parents, about his future. She wants to uncover every little piece of him, like an enigma, like a riddle.

#

She wants to know every corner, dark or light, of Peter Pan’s heart, and that sudden need hits her a little too hard, like an arrow that runs her through.

He pulls her from her thoughts by telling her to sit. She smiles, bouncing a little in anticipation, and sits on the couch, crossing her legs, propping her head up by resting her forearm on the back of the sofa, her palm resting against her neck. She still has her stuffed unicorn in her other hand, and she tucks her in her lap, wrapping her arm underneath her fuzzy legs.

“We’re all ears,” she says with a smile.

#

He smiles as she bounces over to the sofa. She settles in, all attentive, with Fluffycakes clutched to her chest and he suddenly remembers. He turns and grabs Tootles off window seat behind him and tosses the bear lightly at Wendy. It smacks her in the face, throws her head off her arms and tangles her up in fluff. She’s adorable and his grin is genuine.

When she rights herself, he has to work extra hard to tear his eyes away from the faded yellow t-shirt she’s wearing under her cardigan. It’s the bird shirt. _The_ bird shirt. Well, fuck, she must really want that story.  He glances out the window and spots Killian with his shears down in the garden. _Great._

Looking back at Wendy, he tells her, “We promised them a date.”

He watches her settle the animals cozily side by side, taking such care that he can’t help but smile at how cute she is. Just before she turns back, he brings the flute to his lips and runs a warm-up scale.

#

Oh, the teddy bear. Her kryptonite. How adorable is it that he has a stuffed bear with a name and that he takes picture of him and - _compose yourself, Wendy Darling_. Do not be so easily swayed by fluffiness.

It hits her in the face, and her face is half a grimace and half a grin. She takes the bear into her arms, grinning - he’s all soft and fuzzy, and he smells a little like Peter. She fights back a sigh, wondering what is _wrong_ with her today, and she glances up.

“Right,” she says.

Carefully, she sits Fluffycakes down on the couch, leaning against her folded legs, and she sets down Tootles next to her. She pauses, biting her lip, then arranges their paws so they touch each other. Might as well make this a proper date. Plus, stuffed animals holding hands is cute.

The sounds coming from the flute surprises her, and she glances up sharply.

Peter plays nothing but a scale, and it’s not much, but _Peter Pan is playing music_. This isn’t helping her case. His fingers move, effortless and expert, on the instrument, and his lips are loosely wrapped around the beak. The light from the window hits him, enveloping him in a sort of pale, yellowish halo - oh, dear god, he’s beautiful.

When he pulls back to glance at her, she smiles encouragingly, but she doesn’t even talk. She thinks she might have forgotten how.

For heaven’s sake, he’s only playing the flute. What is wrong with her? Did she leave her brain at home, today? She glances down then back up, waiting for him to play more.

#

Her smile is beautiful and encouraging but Peter suddenly feels more nervous than ever before. He does not want to fuck this up. He’s been through years of music exams but playing for Wendy Darling makes his fingertips sweat. He can’t play like this.

He pauses, wipes his hands on his shirt as surreptitiously as possible in the spotlight of the window, flips through his sheets unnecessarily to calm down a bit then brings the flute back to his mouth. He can feel the weight of Wendy’s attention on his and he tells himself this is what he has wanted. He can bask in it, show off a bit even. She’s here to watch _willingly_.

Peter takes a deep, calming breath, closes his eyes, fills his lungs and brings the flute back to his lips. He runs a few more scales and one or two warm up exercises in rapid succession. Then, he stops.

Wendy is still watching him and the expression on her face is indescribable. He could hazard a guess at a some of the emotions he can glimpse but he doesn’t want to try. Instead, he smiles softly at her before playing again.

His piece is [Syrinx by Debussy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEyKM13yf_4). He’d thought it ironic at first. Now, he finds it fitting that Pan should play his pipe for the girl who always runs away from him.

The first haunting notes waft into the air and his focus goes entirely to the movement of his fingers, the control of his breathing and the little black dots dancing on the staves in front of him.

#

He’s only playing scales, and she’s already enchanted. She loves music in general, who doesn’t? But the fact that it’s Peter playing is enough to make the whole experience even more entrancing. He’s almost as captivating to watch as he is to listen to. He pauses to look at her, and he gives her a smile, soft, sweet, almost shy. She’s never quite seen an expression like this on his face, before.

It dawns on her that he must be nervous, and it makes her privileged that he lets her listen to him play. She guesses that not many people have had the pleasure to hear him.

Then, he starts playing an actual piece, and she is _mesmerized_.

The melody, one she doesn’t think she’s heard before, is haunting, with a trace of longing, and it seems to call to her, making her imagination dance on the edge of another realm, one filled with woodland and mythical creatures. She lets Peter take her there, flying on the notes of his flute, and she’s torn between watching him and closing her eyes to appreciate the melody. Music is one of the quickest ways to move her, and the feelings it draws in her ribcage are difficult to put into words.

The music gets shrilled, quicker, and she bites her lip, smiling as the notes fade into something slower. Her eyelids fall shut for a moment as the song reaches its end on a lengthy, shivering note, leaving something bittersweet through the air. It takes her a few seconds to pull herself out. She opens her eyes, and meets Peter’s green, intense gaze.

“That was lovely," she says softly, a smile tugging at her lips. “That was so beautiful. Thank you. You’re really talented, Peter."

#

As the piece draws to a close, he lets himself look at Wendy and he’s struck, again, by how breathtaking she is. Her eyes are closed and she seems to be almost swaying with the music he plays. He tries to be perfect. He always screws up a note at the end but he can’t afford to now. Not with Wendy listening.

He pulls it off and she opens her eyes to meet his. Her compliment makes his chest puff while her tone knocks the wind right back out of him. He ends up shrugging at her shyly and saying, “Thanks. I usually screw up the ending to be honest.”

She smiles at him and he sees her eyes skitter back to the frame on the bookshelf. He wants to play another piece for her but his mouth is dry. Abruptly, he remembers his manners and asks, “Are you thirsty?”

#

She’s endeared by how shy he seems. That is so _unlike_ him. He’s almost subdued, and it’s lovely. It makes him look younger. The thought makes her eyes dart back to the frame she spotted, but his tone pulls her out of it, and she shrugs.

“A little. You?”

When he nods, she takes it as her cue to get up. He sets his flute down, and she waits for him by the door so they can get downstairs. She feels as though the music soothed her, somehow, and made the subtle nervousness that had been plaguing her ever since she arrived quiet down.

As they make their way down the stairs, she slips her hand into his, and she doesn’t pause to see his reaction. She feels him glance at her, but she simply marches on, heart beating a little faster than before.

When they arrive on the main floor, Wendy thinks about letting go, but she doesn’t. She recognizes her surrounding, and vaguely remembers where the kitchen is, even if she hasn't gone inside it yet. Still she lets Peter lead her there, and she lets go of his hand as soon as they’re in the room. She glances around the room, curious as ever, as though she’s trying to imprint the image of the place into her mind. Peter glances at her, and she politely asks for a glass of water.

She sees a figure moving out the window, and she tries to see past the curtains. All she sees is a silhouette.

“Is that your uncle?” she asks.

#

He thinks she must be trying to kill him because halfway down the stairs, she reaches over and slides her warm little hand into his. His fingers close around hers like second nature but his mind has yet to catch up. He glances over at her but she’s looking straight ahead at where they’re going. Her eyes trail over the pictures lining the staircase with interest and he knows that she’s trying to tell which are his. He smiles and can’t seem to stop.

When they get to the main floor, her grip slackens briefly but his tightens. They keep holding hands all the way into the kitchen and Peter feels like a child and a man all at the same time. It’s not something he’s ever felt before and it makes him nervous. He reluctantly lets go of her to get them drinks. He has just raised his glass to his lips when she asks about Killian. He whips his head around and Killian is out in the garden but visible through the window above the sink.

“Yeah,” he says, “That’s Uncle Killjoy.”

At her look he recants. “His name is Killian and he’s actually pretty cool.”

Wendy agrees with a familiar breathlessness that makes Peter’s eyes narrow.  He likes when she sounds like that but he usually likes to be the one causing it. He looks out at his uncle working in the yard. Plaid shirt open and jeans slung low and grits his teeth.

Peter’s not stupid. He knows he comes from a good looking family. Killian spends enough nights out for Peter and Felix both to figure he’s either got the best game in the world or girls actually like how their uncle looks. It’s kind of fun to tease the older man about it when it comes up.

What is not fun is Wendy seeing what those other women see. Peter had laughed in Felix’s face when the other boy had expressed concerns about Tink and Killian but now…karma’s a bitch.

A really, really mean bitch too. Because right at that moment, Killian walks through the door.

#

As Peter tells her his uncle’s name, she glances at the window, and gets a good glimpse of him through the curtains - _wow_. Good genes. She averts her eyes, because it’s not cool to stare. Tink has mentioned Killian before, and Wendy has to admit that her friend was right: that is one good-looking man.

She takes a sip of the water Peter gave her, more from the need to do something with herself than from thirst. Really, she shouldn’t be gaping at the uncle of the boy she likes. She hopes Peter hasn’t noticed.

The door opens and Wendy turns her head instinctively. Killian walks through the door, running a hand through his dark hair as he walks - he pauses in the kitchen doorway, raising his eyebrows, glancing from Peter to Wendy. A smile, close to a smirk, forms on his face - is that a family thing? Wendy tries not to stare, but the first buttons of his shirt are undone, and there’s a glisten of sweat on his neck.

Wow. Just _damn_.

The man gives Peter a glance, eyes lit up, then glances back at Wendy. He smiles, all charm and effortlessness, and greets her.

“Hi,” he says. “It’s Wendy, right?”

He knows her name. Did Peter mention her when he said he was having a friend over? Wendy smiles; let’s not lie she’s utterly charmed, and answers.

“Yes. Nice to meet you…”

“Call me Killian. Is my nephew being a good host?”

His eyes dart to Peter, again, and Wendy can’t help but notice that Peter looks a little…tense. Almost like he’s scowling. Still, Wendy nods and smiles.

“Yes. Very.”

"Good. I guess I raised him well. Well…for the most part.”

There’s a teasing edge to the man’s tone, and Wendy fights back a little giggle. At the sight of her smile, Killian winks and Wendy decides that the charm definitely runs in the family.

#

Peter grits his teeth and plots murder in his mind. He’s absolutely certain that a few Tic Tacs and one well-worded apology and Felix will help. If this is what the other boy goes through every time Tink is over, Peter is actually _sorry_ for the laughing he did.

“Shut it, old man,” he snarls.

Killian grins at him, all shit-eating and completely irritating, as if he hadn’t just outed the fact that Peter’s talked about Wendy at home before. Peter knows his uncle gets his shits and giggles from annoying his nephews and that he shouldn’t rise to the bait but Peter has always been the more reactive of the two boys.

“And there’s the lesser part,” Killian points out the Wendy with yet another fucking wink. _Jesus Christ, you’re a creepy old man, Killian_. Wendy is all smiles and Peter thinks she’s about half a breath away from giggling. He needs to get them out of here.

He grabs his glass, stalks over to Wendy, and circles his hand around her wrist. He still manages to be gentle with her despite the ire in his bones. He tugs her closer and starts moving toward the door. Over his shoulder he calls, “We’re in the attic. Don’t forget to order the Chinese tonight.”

Up the first flight of stairs, he turns on Wendy’s smiling face and backs her against the wall of the landing, well out of sight of the garden or the kitchen or Killian. He presses her back with his body, incapable of controlling his urge to somehow remind both of them who she’s there for. He almost kisses her but stops himself at the last moment.

They freeze there, caught in the late Sunday afternoon haze and the intoxication of their proximity.

#

Wendy is more amused with each second that passes - Peter’s little jab at his uncle only makes the older man grin and wink. Wendy is charmed, and she finds the teasing tone of the conversation lovely. She takes another sip of water, emptying her glass, setting it down on the counter. She barely has time to give Killian another grin when Peter grabs her wrist, gentle, but oddly impatient. She throws him a glance, raising her eyebrows, but she follows him.

He’s irritated. She can tell. She thinks she’s getting good at reading him. He calls back to his uncle, unceremoniously, and Wendy thinks she might know what’s annoying him like this. She’s not sure, but this is Peter, the guy who seemed to believe he had a claim on her, even before there was actually anything between them.

She probably should have hid the fact that she found his _uncle_ very appealing better. But she was caught by surprise. She also probably shouldn’t find his possible jealousy _cute_. But really, his uncle is older than her - she’s a teenage girl, for heaven’s sake. Plus, it’s not him she came to see. Not at all.

She follows Peter up the stairs, distracted by her thoughts, when the boy suddenly turns on her, and presses her against the wall on an impulse. Her eyes widen in surprise and her heart skips a beat. For a few moments, she doesn’t move, looking at him with wide eyes, her expression softening when she thinks he might kiss her. He doesn’t.

He just stays there, pressed up against her, and he doesn’t move. He just looks at her, looking a little breathless, or maybe she’s the one out of breath. There’s an intimacy to the way he holds her, and she knows that she should, perhaps, be offended at the fact that he unceremoniously pressed her up against the wall with no warning, when they’re supposed to be friends.

She hesitates between saying something or not. She looks at him, trying to read his gaze, trying to figure out what he’s doing, or why, but she doesn’t push him away. She doesn’t want to. The warmth of his body against hers, while not quite familiar yet, feels pleasant, and it sends little jolts through her, quickening the beat of her heart. It’s a rush, but it’s far from a bad one.

She wants to kiss him, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t know what stops her, exactly, besides the untrue assertion that they’re friends, and her unspoken desire to linger in the moment. Instead, she brings her hand up to his neck, tentatively, softly, and she cups his cheek for a moment, before starting to run her fingers through his hair, caressing the locks on the side of his face, right above his ear. It’s a tender gesture. It's something a _girlfriend_ would do, and she’s almost painfully aware of it.

And then, because she doesn’t know what she’s doing, or why, she just gives him a smile.

Her fingers in his hair are a soft caress and this moment is what he thinks their relationship would be like if they ever gave it a go. This quiet, understanding intimacy with its lingering undertone of heat and passion. This is them, the way they were made to be. He closes his eyes and leans slightly into her touch. When he opens them, she’s smiling at him, familiar and pretty and affectionate.

#

He turns his head a little, unpracticed and unplanned, and presses his lips to the underside of her wrist where she smells strongest of that floral perfume she uses sometimes. Her skin is thin and delicate where her veins are bluest and he lingers, because she isn’t pushing him away.

He wants to kiss her properly now. He warned her he would. But she wants to do this friends thing. Peter doesn’t know who she’s trying to fool with that, they were _never_ meant to be _just_ friends, but he likes her. He genuinely likes her as a person, respects her opinion, admires her pluck, enjoys her sense of humor. Because of all that he will wait for her if she still claims to be unready for more.

To be completely honest, he would wait a lifetime for her.

Still, she has given him little bits of hope. Little promises, here and there, of more to come once her heart and head align. So he raises his hand to touch the side of her face. Her little pixie chin fits into the bowl of his hand so perfectly it seems like fate. Her jaw feels fragile under his thumb.

He lets his fingers graze along the smoothness of her skin, eyes closely following their trail, until finally they arrive at her mouth. Her lips are pink and plump and parted and there, right in the corner, is that empty place where he’d stolen that special kiss from. Peter moves his thumb lightly over it then raises his gaze to hers.

“I like you,” he confesses. It should feel infantile, grade-school, but it doesn’t. There’s an honesty in his words he can’t hide and doesn’t want to. “I really do, Wendy. Not because of your looks – I mean. Shit, I mean you’re _gorgeous_ , okay. But I like _you_. Does that make sense?”

#

His lips touch the skin below her wrist, and the movement is so delicate, so sweet, that it almost takes her breath away more than a proper kiss would. She watches him, and leans into his touch as he cups her face, gentle and tentative, so unlike anything anyone would expect from him at first sight.

It’s in that moment, really, in that affectionate, loving gesture, that the looming ghost of Pan, the mythical, dangerous boy whose very idea was so daunting that Wendy kept holding back, falls away. She looks at him, and she doesn’t think of the stories she heard, she doesn’t feel the phantom taste of her tears on her cheeks, and there’s no shadow of past aches in her heart.

In that moment, he truly and completely becomes _Peter_ to her.

His fingertips trail over her skin, grazing over her jaw, her cheek, until they reach the corner of her mouth. She remembers, clear as day, the time he pressed a kiss there. A special kiss, one that belonged to him only. Butterflies flutter in her stomach, and she feels light-headed, although the warmth of Peter’s embrace grounds her. This isn’t a dream. This is the best kind of reality.

The words that pass his lips are artless, unpolished, and they hold an open, unbridled sincerity that seizes her heart and makes it _soar_. She knows, without a doubt, that he’s never said anything like that to anyone else – not like this. And the simple words conceal a deeper truth she’s aware of. He told her he loved her, before, and somehow, the fact that he’s not saying it, right now, is a testament that he meant it. It’s restraint that he shows, for her sake.

Instead of reducing her to silence, what he says makes her confident, even if a part of her melts, smitten, completely enamored. She smiles and nods, meeting his eyes without a trace of hesitation.

“Yes." she says. “…I like you too. I really, _really_ do. You…you make my heart dance."

The words slip out all on their own. In another context, she’d almost feel silly for the ridiculously romantic-sounding admission, but this is Peter, and there’s a comfortable glow that envelops them, contrasting with the tension that constantly seems to pull them together and apart. There’s a light in his eyes, and it pushes her doubts aside.

“You can kiss me if you want to," she whispers, a smile tugging at her lips. “ _I want you to."_

#

Something clears in her eyes and his heart beats a tattoo of hope in chest. He doesn’t know why, doesn’t know what’s changed exactly but he feels it in his very bones. Something has shifted for the better.

Her words are like poetry in his ears, romantic and metaphoric and _beautiful_. He would say the same, if he knew how to work words like that. Peter is a passion and fire and honesty at his best; awkward phrases of semi-coherent meaning at his worst. But Wendy is always articulate and he loves it. He’s a reader, after all, and she’s an author in the making.

Then she gives him permission to kiss her. So he does.

He lowers his head and meets her open mouth softly. The kiss is reminiscent of the one they shared before, at the beach, the kind of kiss Peter has only ever shared with her.

No other girl will ever compare. He’s thought it before but this time, this time the thought strikes him through the heart and lurches the organ upward into his throat. He _loves_ this girl. She’s the only one he’s ever thought about loving. The only one he’s ever imagined _more_ with.

He loves her and he likes her and he wants her to know it.

He tries to kiss the knowledge into her, gently but thoroughly, tries to tell her with his tongue and teeth against hers that she is _the one_. She has been since that first day of freshman year when she bumped into him all awhirl and looking for her next class.

It had been Bio. She sat in front of him, one row over, curls all over the place and totally attentive to their drone of a teacher. He’d spent the whole class watching her, unable to tear his eyes away for even a moment. He’s sure the teacher knew he hadn’t paid a single ounce of attention to anything she said. He hadn’t cared then and didn’t care now.

When they break apart, he is breathless. He rests his forehead against hers and whispers, “Say you’ll be mine, Wendy.”

#

He kisses her, finally. The kiss is soft and gentle, but it holds the kind of fire that she didn’t truly know she wanted, until _him_. He fills up a part of her that wasn’t quite missing, because she’s never been incomplete. but he ignites something inside of her. Wendy Darling has many facets, and she shoots for the stars. She wants the tenderness and the passion, she wants the kisses and the laughter, the embraces and the heat. She doesn’t want to choose between the sweet softness of the spring and the scorching sun of summer. She wants both. And with Peter, it’s like she can catch a glimpse of all of that.

She kisses him back without hesitation, and the kiss is both deep and soft. She opens her mouth to welcome his tongue, and she wraps her arms around his neck, her chest pressing against his, the beating of their hearts drumming together to create a new music, one that’s theirs.

With Peter, it’s like every single word, every little gesture always means more, good or bad. It’s been like this before they truly connected - the harsh words and the glares were shielding something deeper, already. And the kiss is the same - more than heat, emotions rush through, and Wendy can feel herself get lost in it. Not because Peter steals her away, but because she lets herself be carried away into his arms.

He asks her to be his and honestly, at this point, what could she say but _yes_? Maybe she’d be more reluctant to call herself his if she didn’t know that he’s hers already. She cups his cheek, running her thumb over his jaw, and says.

“I already am."

She doesn’t let him react. She presses a quick, butterfly kiss to his lips, and pulls back to look at him.

“I want to be with you," she says and it’s not an admission, it’s a statement. “Is that still what you want?”

#

He doesn’t expect her answer. The minute the words leave his lips he wants to bite them back, sick of being a fool who sets himself up for rejection over and over again. It’s not that he blames her in any way; it’s he who can’t control himself. But then…

Then she tells what he’s wanted to hear for _years._

His heart drops to behind his navel then bounces into the air and disappears leaving only warmth in the remaining cavity.

Her kiss is quick and new. She kisses him willingly, not out of lust but just…just because she wants to kiss him and it’s so sweet his heart clenches back in its rightful place.

The words she says are simple enough but they ground him and throw him all at once. He will not move from this moment and he cannot move away from her. The question she asks almost seems to need no answer but he will give her one.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted since the first time I saw you, Bird.”

#

She didn’t expect him to say anything else, because he’s been clear about it for a while, but it still makes her heart flutter in her ribcage. She beams, her lips moving into a bright smile of their own accord. She lets out a shivering, breathy little laugh, more out of pure emotion than actual amusement, and she tightens her grip around his neck, her fingertips playing with a lock of his hair as she molds her frame against his body.

Oh, she could get used to this very, very easily.

“Good," she whispers softly.

She wants to say more - she wants to let him know that this is for real, that she’s past waiting, but somehow, what she said feels like enough, for now. Her heart is pounding and her mind is almost in a haze, caught up in a soft, comfortable sort of fog.

She feels like the air around them is glowing.

She reaches down and slips her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. She brings his hand up to her mouth, and she kisses his knuckles, like she did once before. There are small traces of scars on his skin, some of them older than others, and she lets her lips linger for a moment. Her mind is oddly blank - she’s dazed, and it’s like her brain still has to catch up, if only a little.

“Do you want to get back to the attic?” she asks, glancing up to meet his eyes.

#

He smiles when she laughs, adoring her like a fool without repent. She’s beautiful, perfect, and gorgeous – there aren’t enough adjectives in the dictionary for how wonderful he thinks she is. She hugs him and he returns the embrace. He wants to hold her forever, just stand here in this shadowed corner and hug her, but she pulls back and takes his hand, kisses his knuckles and then, again, something else shifts.

They are mercurial at best, the two of them together, hot one moment, soft the next but never cold. They are never, even cold.

The sensation of Wendy’s lips on his skin is stoking a fire that never quite goes out inside of him. It dims to embers, waiting for her touch to kindle it to blazing again. She looks up at him with glazed eyes and a saccharine smile and he nods his answer.

He doesn’t want to let go of her though, so he steps away, pulls her in front of him and wraps his arms around her as they walk. He knows the house by heart so he can keep his face buried in her neck as they make their way back to the attic. He does have to let go of her a little, so they can make the final ascent, but once they are inside and the door pushed closed behind them, he takes her back into his arms.

She’s aglow in the misty golden light of the afternoon sun. She looks like and angel and he wants to write music for her, take photos of her from every angle, but more than anything, he wants to kiss his girlfriend.

Fuck, his _girlfriend._

_Wendy Darling is his girlfriend._

He grins, wide and _happy_ , and leads her to the couch. He sits right in the middle and pulls her down on top of him. She falls into his lap with a little squeal and tinkling laughter. He silences it with a kiss.

#

As they make their way to the attic, Peter wraps his arms around her from behind, burying his nose against her neck, and she shivers a little, smiling. She feels light-headed, and she’s smiling so much that her cheeks are starting to strain. She feels like she could fly.

She’s just _happy_. Her brain is a haze of emotions and sunshine, and she can’t form a single coherent thought, other than the fact that she’s happy.

The door closes behind them in the attic, and she turns to look at Peter. He’s looking at her with tenderness, adoration in his eyes, and she’s never really let herself take in the way he looks at her, before. It’s soft and fierce at the same time, and she doesn’t even realize that his expression is perfectly mirrored in hers.

And then, he grins – it’s not a wicked grin, razor-sharp and cutting, nor is it a nervous, shy smile or a smirk. He’s radiating light, and she follows him as he guides her towards the sofa. Effortlessly, she falls into his lap and her laughter is muffled by his lips on hers. She smiles against his mouth, almost too much to properly kiss back. She locks her arms behind his neck and pulls away, nuzzling his nose quickly, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. She doesn’t stop there, though – she trails feather kisses down his jaw, to his neck. Her touch is light and almost teasing in its gentleness. She curls up in his lap, comfortably, her feet on the couch, and she works her mouth back to his. When she kisses him again, it’s between breathless smiles and rapid heartbeats.

Suddenly, she notices something, sticking out behind his back, and she pulls away, gasping.

“Careful!” she exclaims, reaching out to grab the stuffed bear. “You’re suffocating Tootles”.

She takes a glance next to her, where the stuffed unicorn still sits, and carefully places the bear next to her, before giving Peter a mock-disapproving look.

"Really," she says with a hint of a smile. “You almost lost your model. Shame on you, Peter Pan. Shame!”

#

They kiss.

She does that thing where she kisses her way up and down his neck and drives him crazy. He can feel her smile against his mouth and knows that this is probably the worst kiss they’ve ever shared in a purely technical sense. They aren’t even kissing some of the time, just smiling with their faces smashed together. It’s ridiculous and he regrets nothing.

When she pulls away, she rescues the ill-treated Tootles from behind his back. He hadn’t even noticed. He plucks the bear from her hands and stares at him seriously in the face.

“I thought you had a date. Fluffycakes is probably very disappointed right now,” he says to Tootles.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Wendy cover her grin with her fingers so he shakes the bear back and forth in a very vehement teddy denial.

“You’re lucky she isn’t.” He turns Tootles toward the end of the couch where Fluffycakes sits patiently waiting and sets them both facing away from their owners. “We’re going to be busy, so you two behave.”

When he turns back to Wendy, he grins a little, his cheeks a little warm from his own dorkishness as she would call it.

#

Oh my god, he is _talking to the bear._

She’s grinning so much that she probably looks like a complete idiot, but she can’t bring herself to care very much. She hides her smile with her hand, a giggle shaking her shoulders. When he looks back at her, smiling sheepishly and - is he _blushing_? There’s the slightest hint of redness to his cheeks, and it’s adorable.

“You’re a dork,” she says, shaking her head, eyes shining in amusement.

Peter Pan is a dork, and she gets to call him her very own dork. She can’t even wrap her mind around the fact. Out of a need to stop smiling like there are strings pulling her cheeks, more than anything else, she covers Peter’s mouth with hers again. She giggles a bit against his lips as she remembers the fact that he just _scolded stuffed animals,_ but when she feels Peter’s embrace tightening around her slightly, her laughter fades, and the pure light that envelops her heart slowly turns into something more heated. She shifts to settle herself on his lap more comfortably, her hands fisting in his shirt, right over his shoulders.

She pulls away, a soft, teasing glint in her eyes, and tilts her head, fighting back a grin.

“When you said we were going to be _busy_ , what exactly did you have in mind?”

#

He was right, of course, she calls him a dork on cue. But then she kisses him and he doesn’t really care about the bear and the unicorn anymore. He has his girlfriend— _his girlfriend_ —in his lap, in his attic, kissing him. He tightens his arms around her even as she giggles. The kiss morphs from lighthearted to heated, their movements slowing and synchronizing into a deeper, more sensual rhythm.

When she pulls back to tease him, her eyes shining with mischief, he seizes the opportunity. With a wicked grin, he says, “What did you think?”

Then he tilts her backward, lets her fall onto her back on the soft cushions of the sofa and swallows her little shriek with his mouth. He moves fluidly and settles himself above her. He relishes the way she matches him automatically, naturally; shifting her limbs as though her body was made to receive his weight. He kisses her slowly, languidly, with one hand in her hair and the other trailing down the side of her body, already half-familiar with her gentle curves.

God, this is his now. All of this girl he’s loved for so long, under him and willingly calling herself _his_.

He breaks their kiss, pulling back to look at her again with wonder in his eyes. While he knows he’s usually more vocal than she is, he doesn’t say anything this time. Just looks at her, sweeps his eyes over every inch of her beautiful face, and brushes the backs of his fingers against the silk of her cheeks.

He loves her so much it hurts. But she doesn’t want to hear that now so he won’t say it. _Not yet._

#

She fights back a giggle at his answer - it was exactly what she expected, from the mischievous grin to the playful glint in his eyes. She falls back on the couch, her body sinking into the cushions, squealing a little at the sudden shift in position. She leans into his touch naturally, though, and the kiss he gives her is slow and deep. She melts into it immediately, her arms wrapping around his waist.

God, he has a nice body. She can feel it underneath her fingertips, under the fabric of his shirt. She moulds her mouth against his, savoring the feel of his lips on hers before he pulls back to look at her.

The look in his eyes is adoring, breathtaking and it makes her heart flutter wildly in her chest. She feels like her soul is bursting with something warm, something light - she doesn’t want to call it love, more out of a desire to be sensible than anything else, but it’s what it feels like. He brushes his hand against her cheek in a tender gesture, and she closes her eyes, leaning into his touch with a little sigh.

She opens her eyes, and brushes her lips against his softly, her fingertips tipping his chin towards her. She runs her hand through his hair, playing with the longer locks a little before she squirms a little underneath the heavy weight of his body. He takes the hint and moves off her, his arms wrapping around her waist to bring her upward with him. She regains her earlier position in his lap and brings her mouth to his again - she is never getting sick of this. His lips are addictive.

She lets the kiss deepen before she pulls back, nuzzling his nose gently. She shifts her weight a little to rest her head against his shoulder, her hand going around his waist to find his. She laces their fingers together and leans into him, soon feeling his free arm wrap around her waist like it was meant to fit there. She buries her face against his shoulder, and smiles as she feels him press a tender kiss to her hair.

In the soft, amber glow of the attic, with the sunlight gleaming through the window, Wendy curls up against her boyfriend and closes her eyes to the sound of his beating heart, wrapped up in the warmth of his embrace.

**TBC**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it still ain't _quite_ over! ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind _all_ the tags, please :)

Wendy wakes up with the biggest smile on her face, and she has to hold back her grin on the ride to school. She barely hears what John’s saying in the driver seat - she’s busy reliving the previous afternoon, and it’s only once she spots the school building, in the distance, that a pit of nervousness starts forming in her stomach.

The previous day was a dreamy, sweet haze, shrouded in a golden glow. However, the grey curtain of reality falls down in the thin fog of morning, and as Wendy bids goodbye to John, getting out of his convertible, she finds herself apprehensive, more than excited.

She’s dating Peter, now - but what is it like, to date Peter Pan? His sweet texts and amusing quips about Tootles don’t seem like the kind of things he’d make public, and while she’s seen him hang around girls, before, she’s never seen him with a girlfriend. That was part of why she was so afraid of going for it with him, in the first place.

She shakes her head at herself: it will be all right, won’t it? Peter loves her - he told her as much. They’re dating. It’s, as he said a few times, what he wanted since the day he met her.

They can figure things out. She believes they can.

Quickly, Wendy is greeted by Tink who gives her a bright grin, linking her arm with hers. Immediately, her blonde friend starts talking to her about Peter, asking for details about the previous day with an amused grin. Wendy texted her the previous night, but she hasn’t gone into it. Tink’s overdramatic curiosity makes Wendy giggle, and she tells her they can talk later, when there are less people around. Tink good-naturally chides her for holding out, then casually eases the conversation towards something else - she isn’t one to pry, or to put all the focus on relationships.

A familiar-looking Jeep pulls up in the parking lot, and Wendy’s heart skips a beat. She sees Felix in the passenger seat, and can only spot Peter’s silhouette beside him. Tink nudges her with a grin, cooing and batting her eyes, whispering to her that her _lover_ ’s here. Wendy rolls her eyes but smiles, and looks up as the tall, slender boy gets out of the vehicle. He smiles at Tink, waving casually. Tink smiles back, but Wendy’s attention is focused elsewhere. Peter is getting out of the Jeep as well, going around it to join Felix on the sidewalk.

Tink starts making her way towards Felix, and Wendy follows easily - as they walk, the girls start chatting about the assignment Tink hasn’t finished, but the conversation quickly ends when Felix greets Tink and Wendy. The pair quickly engage in a discussion, and Wendy’s eyes dart to Peter. Her heart thumps in her chest - would it be okay to kiss him? She spots a few of the boys he hangs out with sometimes in the parking lot - some of them greet him, and their gazes are what keeps Wendy from making a move. She doesn’t want to overstep her boundaries.

Instead, she adjusts the strap of her backpack over her shoulder in a nervous gesture, and she takes a small step towards Peter as Felix and Tink keep talking.

“Hi,” she says with a bright smile, one that still holds the warmth of the previous day. “How are you?”

#

Peter is ready early the next morning. Killian laughs when he finds Peter sat at the counter with a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal as he enters the kitchen with the rising sun and his scruff still untrimmed. Peter would scowl if he gave a shit. He just wants to see his girlfriend.

Fuck, that sounds wonderful.  _His girlfriend. Wendy._

"I can’t believe it,” Killian says when he’s gotten the first drops of caffeine into his system. “You’re awake and it’s still morning. Anything special happening today?”

There’s a knowing glint in his eye that manages draw the slightest sneer out of his nephew but it is so utterly for show that it only makes the man bark with laughter.

“If you fuck up with that girl,” Killian says as he turns to the toaster, “ _I’ll_ cry.”

Whatever dismissive answer his uncle expects, the firm response Peter gives still Killian’s hands for a long moment. Peter puts his cup down and focuses deeply on his bowl before saying solemnly, “I won’t.”

The rest of the morning seems to drag after that. Felix takes too long in the bathroom and Peter is not at all satisfied with his hair but they have to leave if he wants to see Wendy at all before classes start. He drives a little more recklessly than usual, aggressive with the sluggish traffic of barely-woken desk jockeys. They hit a red light they never get caught at because some old coot was fumbling with his cellphone and Peter curses because Wendy is already with Tink when they pull into the parking lot.

John Darling’s red convertible rolls past as they park and even though it means they haven’t wasted any time, Peter still feels the loss of those seconds. He’s pathetic and he knows it and he doesn’t care.

 _But then_.

But then he gets out of the Jeep and all of his anticipation freezes in his veins. He can hardly move because she looks so fucking pretty walking towards him and he’s allowed to touch her, allowed to be her boyfriend now, he can kiss her and hold and…Jesus Christ, he has no idea what he’s supposed to do.

Is he allowed to do those things in public? Would she want him to? For all that they’ve been close and dorky and hot together, they’ve never…interacted in public. They’ve spent time with Felix and Tink, both of whom know, but the wider world doesn’t.

Peter doubts the wider world knows they even know each other’s names.

Can they just…be together? With no preamble? What about her other friends? He honestly doesn’t care about his boys; they’d probably raise an eyebrow or two but no one would question him. Well, maybe Rufio would. He’s always called him out on being lucky because _Ariel and Lily? Seriously, Pan? What kind of magic dick are you hiding?_

Not that Peter would even _consider_ trading back. He has what he’s wanted since before sex was a thing he knew how to do. And, most importantly, what he has with Wendy isn’t about sex. What he feels for her is _more_. He _loves_ her.

It’s not concept he’s very good with. He fought it for far longer than he’s acknowledged it. But it’s true and real and, oh yeah, wave to the guys.

He nods casually as some of them pass by but he keeps his eye on the nearing figure in her pretty blue skirt. God, she’s always just so perfect. He just can’t. She smiles and murmurs and greeting and suddenly he has to… _what does he do?_

“Hey,” he says as casually as he can. If he does anything else, he might end up pinning her to nearest car and kissing the breath out of her lungs. “Good. You?”

He thinks this sounds ridiculous and stupid but he really, _really_ needs her to lead. He hasn’t ever done this boyfriend thing before and he actually has no clue what she’d be ok with. 

#

He speaks, and she very pathetically realizes that she missed the sound of his voice already. God, it’s been less than twenty-four hours - _be sensible, Wendy Darling, for heaven’s sake._

Still, he doesn’t kiss her, on the lips or the cheek, and he doesn’t reach for her hand. Her heart sinks a little, but she tells herself that maybe he’s as nervous as she is. Maybe he doesn’t want to be affectionate in public. Does he do public displays of affection?

 _Well, he certainly did with Ariel_ , a grating little voice in her head tells her.

Wendy remembers, with a little jolt, how the redhead had behaved with Peter, right in front of her eyes. Peter had seemed comfortable enough with _her_.

She pushes the thoughts from her mind - it’s too early in the morning for bitterness.

“Good too,” she says. Her eyes dart to the side, and she spots Tink subtly playing with the hem of Felix’s sleeve. The gesture is discreet, casual, hard to notice - should she try to do the same thing?

She’s being ridiculous - they’re _together_. Peter loves her. She shouldn’t second-guess herself that much. She clears her throat, her eyes moving back up to meet Peter’s, and she bites her lip.

“I woke up with a really big smile on my face,” she confesses, lowering her voice, almost shy.

# 

He bites back a groan as she bites her lip. That shouldn’t be so sexy so early in the morning but he wants to kiss her so badly it hurts. He curls his toes in his boots to keep himself in place. He isn’t going to force her into anything she isn’t ready for. He made her that promise a while ago and he meant it with all he is. Anything Wendy Darling gives him, she’ll give him of her own free will and it will be all the sweeter because of that.

Her next words make him want to grin and gather her up and do something stupidly romantic like twirl her about and whisper _Me too_ against her lips. But he isn’t Chris Pine (or whoever, who’s the going actor for girls right now anyway?) and this isn’t that movie.

He tries to go for subtle instead. He smirks at her a little and asks flirtatiously, “Any special reason?”

At least, he hopes it comes off as flirtatious and not...well, anything else.

#

She feels her grin widen, and she lets out a little, muffled giggle, her heart fluttering. He’s smirking - that smirk always makes her go a little weak-kneed, and she has to fight back a sigh, trying to smother down the silly little voice inside her head, that keeps whispering that _her boyfriend is dreamy_.

And yet, despite the obvious flirting, she can’t help but feel as though he’s slightly…distant. It’s just a feeling, so far, vague, unformed, but it’s enough to make her hold back on her displays of affection.

Still, she’s happy to see him and, in answer to his question, she just shrugs, still smiling :

“Not really,” she says, raising her eyebrows playfully. “I just had nice dreams, that’s all. But that wouldn’t interest you, I’m sure.”

#

He raises an eyebrow at her dismissal, smirk deepening at her response. She’s teasing him and he’s ok with it. It’s not exactly what he wants but it’ll do, for now.

Her smile is so pretty.

“Nice dreams?” he asks as he falls into step beside her.

Ahead, Tink and Felix are talking as they walk. Felix’s head is bowed close to Tink’s – to hear, apparently – but when the two veer off and stop at Tink’s locker, Peter sees his cousin’s lips lower to the blonde’s ear. _Fucking Felix and his subtlety._

He looks back over a Wendy as she turns toward her locker and he follows, magnetically. “Is there a story there?”

It’s a double entendre only she would get, if she gets it at all.

What the fuck is his life right now? He’s flirting with his girlfriend for the very first time and it’s the day after they started dating. How backward are they going to get the rest of this? 

#

They start walking towards the building, a little behind Tink and Felix, and Wendy marches on, spotting a few stray glances thrown in their direction. It’s an odd sight, for sure, to see Pan walking alongside Wendy Darling, with a familiarity the pair usually doesn’t possess. They’ve rarely spoken in public, let alone so civilly. The girl smiles at Peter, answering vaguely.

“Maybe,” she says as she starts moving towards her locker.

She opens it, her fingers working the combination, and she feels her heart flutter when she notices that Peter followed her. She picks up a few books, sliding them in her backpack, and glances up at her boyfriend, _her boyfriend_ , as he talks. She bites her lip as she grins.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

They may not be kissing or holding hands, but they’re _flirting_. She’s pretty sure that’s what this is. She closes her locker, and leans against it, gazing up at Peter with a smile.

He’s so, so handsome, and she wishes he’d lean forward and press a kiss to her lips, just for a second. She wishes she was brave enough to take that step. But suddenly, the fact that they’re at school seems daunting, and she can’t bring herself to it.

#

He wants to press her back against the locker and tell her he wants to know it _all._ He still remembers all the details of that one story she’d written, vague as it might have been, and he wants to know what _she_ wants. He wants to give it to her.

But school, in public, people are around. He has to behave. She isn’t making it easy for him though, leaning back and looking up at him from under those long lashes of hers, lips painted a slightly deeper shade of pink than normal. It’s too much to resist completely so he steps closer as the bell goes and people start rushing by. He braces his forearm beside her head and leans down so his mouth is by her ear.

He murmurs quietly. “You look beautiful this morning, Bird.”

Then quickly, he turns his head and kisses her temple. It’s a light, fleeting touch but his lips tingle and his nose fills with the enchanting scent of her hair.

“God,” he adds as he pulls away, “I missed you.”

#

The bell rings, and Wendy regretfully thinks that they might need to leave at that, no kiss, no hug, _nothing,_ when he leans forward, pressing his forearm to the locker in a smooth, easy movement. Wendy’s breath catches as Peter’s lips brush against her ear, and she shivers slightly at the compliment. He places the quickest kiss to her temple, and she feels herself smiling - people are rushing by, in the hallway, and nobody’s paying attention to the pair.

Peter pulls away, and Wendy beams at him, dimples in her cheeks. Quickly, she stands on tiptoe and kisses his cheek.

“I have to go,” she says. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

She gives him a parting smile, resisting the urge to press a kiss to his mouth before she leaves. She looks back at him over her shoulder as she walks away, and she enters her first morning class with a smile.

During second period, the teacher rambles on, and Wendy sits by the window, her gaze roaming over the courtyard. A light drizzle of rain falls upon the town, contrasting with the previous day’s sunshine - the memory of it makes her think of Peter, and she pulls out her phone, discreetly, to text him behind her book.

[text] btw i didn’t get to tell you

[text] i missed you too

 

**PETER:**

Her smile is as radiant as her departure is quick. He watches her walk away with something like a sigh on his lips. He’s gone for her, so totally and completely gone. Heels over head and back round again for Wendy Darling and her pretty smile.

He pushes off the lockers and starts making his way in long, purposeful strides towards his first class. When he slinks in just as the door closes, one of his boys catches his eye across the room. Curly gives him a distinctly confused look, while in the seat behind him, Rufio waggles his eyebrows in his usual signal for _what did you do and who with?_

Peter ignores them both and settles into his seat. He avoids them when that class is over and tries to figure out how to explain that this thing with Wendy isn’t the same without sounding as whipped as he knows he is. He’s still coming up with nothing when he gets her text. He keeps his face straight and his head down over his books as he replies.

[text] enough to dream about me?

[text] tell me about your dream

[text] I do wanna know

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yes :)

[text] if you’re expecting something steamy prepare for disappointment

[text] it was PG-13

 

**PETER:**

[text] disappointing indeed

[text] still wanna know

 

**WENDY:**

[text] we were in brazil

[text] don’t ask

[text] there was making-out and swimming

[text] in my dream you could surf

 

**PETER:**

[text] is that a twilight reference?

[text] i can surf

[text] and stuff? you can do better than that bird. i’ve read your writing

 

**WENDY:**

[text] ew no not at all

[text] you can surf?? one of your many talents i assume

[text] my writing doesn’t take place through texts

[text] i’m not about to text you erotic prose in class

 

**PETER:**

[text] of course ;)

[text] so you admit it was erotic

[text] come on give me something

[text] it’s been hours since i kissed you

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i admitted no such thing you drew your own conclusions

[text] it’s been hours not weeks you dork

[text] but okay

[text] you had your arms wrapped around me from behind and you kissed my neck

[text] there that’s something

 

**PETER:**

[text] it was inferred

[text] am i not allowed to miss my girlfriend?

[text] cop out bird. that was a cop out

[text] i dreamt about you too

 

**WENDY:**

[text] that is very much allowed

[text] did you?

[text] i hope it was a good dream :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah

[text] but i usually do

[text] good? i tried to behave i promise ;)

 

**WENDY:**

[text] somehow i doubt that

[text] not even going to ask

[text] but it’s nice that you dream about me

[text] once i dreamt you were a robot

[text] felix was a car and there were plans of world domination somewhere

[text] it’s a bit of a haze

 

**PETER:**

[text] you should ask

[text]  it was hot. you were hot

[text] but then you’re always hot

[text] for such a pretty girl you talk about world domination a lot

[text] should i be scared?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i’m not always hot

[text] you haven’t seen me on saturday morning in my slippers and robe

[text] it’s scary

[text] maybe :)

[text] but since you’re my boyfriend i’ll spare you

 

**PETER:**

[text] shut up you are

[text] i want to. someday. maybe

[unsent text] fuck was that too fast?

[text] this thing comes with perks?

[text] aside from the obvious?

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] you might get to

[text] i am warning you though it’s not a pretty sight

[text] the obvious being that i’ll let you live once i rule the world?

[text] there might be some perks

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’ll live

[text] the obvious being that i get to kiss you now

[text] unless you don’t want me to

[text] at which point you might as well let me die with the rest

 

**WENDY:**

[text] of course I want you to kiss me dummy

[text] the only people who will die will be the people who pissed me off

[text] you’ll live in my court

[text] play your cards right and i’ll make you my official sex slave

[text] yes you read that right

 

**PETER:**

[text] good i like kissing you ;)

[unsent text] i’ll try to stay

[unsent text] what

[text] fuck wendy

[text] fuck yes

[unsent text] please

[text] shit i’m in class fuck

 

**WENDY:**

[text] good to see you’re enthusiastic

[text] sorry i didn’t mean to

[text] i didn’t think

[text] but you’re the one who wanted erotic things earlier so if you think about it

[text] you chose your own fate

[text] also as my official sex slave you’ll have to be shirtless all the time

[text] with cuffs

 

**PETER:**

[text] don’t apologize

[text] fuck wendy you’re amazing

[text] i would be okay with this

[text] so very okay

 

**WENDY:**

[text] good :)

[text] i should probably at least pretend to listen to the teacher

[text] but i just feel like talking to you

[text] you’re a terrible influence

 

**PETER:**

[text] fuck the teacher

[text] actually don’t. if you’re fucking anybody, it should be me

[text] i am not

[text] you’ve always been like this bird. admit it

[text] we didn’t even talk when you wrote that story

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] oh my god

[text] well mrs oldman isn’t my type anyway ;)

[text] you have a point

 

**PETER:**

[text] good to know

[unsent text] god wendy please let me fuck you

[text] whats ur next class?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] econ :(

[text] you?

 

**PETER:**

[text] history

[text] fuck it i’m going to find u

[text] and ure skipping econ

 

**WENDY:**

[text] am I?

[text] that sounds like an order yk that’s not very nice

[text] say please

 

 **PETER** :

[text] somebody has to give them

[text] you won’t tell me what you want so

[text] i’ll tell you

[text] please

[unsent text] fuck i love you

 

**WENDY:**

[text] good boy

[text] find me after this class?

[unsent text] can’t believe i’m skipping class to make out oh my god

 

**PETER:**

[text] you say that now

[text] of course

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i’ll see you soon then :)

#

Peter shoots from his chair the moment the bell goes. He hears Rufio call out to him over the din of moving students but he doesn’t stop, doesn’t look back. He all but hurtles through the crowd, headed down the hall and then left toward Mrs. Oldman’s classroom.  He spots her just outside the door, her blonde hair shining in the fluorescent lighting, skirt swaying teasingly above her knees.

He slinks through the crowd now, trying not the draw attention to himself and succeeding. One of the boys – one of the twins – spots him and nods before turning into a classroom. Up ahead, Wendy pauses and glances over her shoulder as though finally remembering him. Their eyes meet and she smirks a little. It sends a frisson of heat straight to his groin. He matches it and then glances across the hall at the closet he’s used before for various nefarious purposes. It’s a tight fit, barely enough for two people, but it’ll do. He knows how to jam the lock so it only opens from the inside.

He jerks his chin slightly and watches her glance nervously around. She doesn’t see the other blonde but Peter spots Emma’s stern expression from where he stands. The other girl is just about to turn into the hall so he makes a break for it. He walks as nonchalantly as he can toward Wendy and surreptitiously grabs her wrist. He tugs her with him quickly, three steps to the right and into the closet.

He whirls her around and presses her back against the door in the darkness. It’s a familiar position, reminiscent of that time in the Chem Lab, but everything is different. She’s smiling at him this time and her hands are curling into his shirt to pull him closer not shove him away.

“Hi,” he murmurs then lowers his mouth to claim hers.

#

To say Wendy is eager to get out of class in an understatement. She feels giddy, nervous, a little excited - she’s going to skip class to make out with her boyfriend. That sentence holds so many words that, a few months ago, would have seemed completely improbable to her. She walks out of class with Emma, losing her a bit in the crowd - when she spots Peter, she smirks, because she knows what’s coming. His smile matches her, and she bites her lip, wondering how the hell they’re supposed to do this with any amount of subtlety.

It turns out that Peter has got it covered. Easily, he strolls towards her and wraps his hand around her wrists, leading her discreetly right into a closet.

A school _closet_. Making out during school hours in a closet. The cliché is almost glorious, and Wendy’s heart thumps in anticipation. She giggles a little as Peter closes the door - damn, this place is cramped, and he almost has no choice but to press her back to the door, his body against hers. Naturally, she fists her hands into his shirt, and grins.

She doesn’t answer his greeting, because he’s silencing her with a kiss. Immediately, she opens her mouth in return, and the kiss quickly grows heated - she’s missed him, as silly as it sounds. She locks her arms around his neck and nips at his lips, leaning her back fully against the door. Her tongue darts out to meet his briefly, before she releases him, nuzzling his nose with hers.

“Hi,” she answers quietly, grinning.

#

He groans into her mouth when she opens for him. He loves that, loves the way she kisses him, loves the way she welcomes him into her body like this. He can only imagine what it would be like to sink into her for real.

He might die of bliss, if that could happen.

When they break apart, he moves his mouth immediately to her neck, working his lips against her smooth flesh without preamble. His hand trails up her side and into her hair and he tilts her head back more even as he presses forward into her. He pauses his ministrations just briefly to fumble with the lock at her hip.

As he works on getting it to stick, he whispers in her ear, “Tell me what you want. You said sex slave, right? I need instructions, Bird.”

The lock clicks into place as he grazes the edge of his teeth along the underside of her jaw. The sound gives him freedom. He raises the hand he’d been using to lock the door to her side and starts pulling her shirt out of her skirt. He gets his fingers on the smooth flesh of her side and trails his hand around to her flat stomach to stroke lightly at the skin there.

It’s hard to see her face in the darkness but her eyes shine up at him when he looks at her. This is breakneck speed, again, but when is it ever anything else with them?

“God, Wendy,” he mumbles and his fingertips brush the underside of her bra, “you drive me crazy.”

#

His lips fall on the skin of her neck, and she fights back a little moan as he tangles his hand into her hair to gain more access to her flesh. She feels him fumble with the lock behind her, his fingertips moving quickly - has he done this before? Making out in a closet?

He probably has, and she wishes it didn’t bother her so much. And yet, he’s with her now - she’s his girlfriend. It’s different.

His breath is hot against her ear, and her eyes flutter shut as his words send a rush of heat right to her core - give him instructions? She’s torn between nervousness and a daring desire to do just that, but he doesn’t wait for an answer. His teeth graze her jaw, and his hand reaches underneath her shirt. He’s only touching her stomach, but her skin feels like liquid fire already.

She almost laughs - she drives _him_ crazy? Really? Does he have any idea what he does to her?

“Good,” she murmurs, before she catches his lips again. She catches his bottom lip between her teeth, and she hooks her fingers into one of his belt loops, pressing him closer to her. Instinctively, she bucks her hips a little against his waist. With a small trace of nervousness, fleeting, lost into the thrill of boldness, she reaches under her shirt to grab his wrist. Slowly, deliberately, she guides his palm over her chest, smirking when she hears his breath hitch. She tangles her other hand into his hair, and forces his head down on her neck again - he wanted instructions? This is it.

As he works his mouth on the side of her neck, she lets go of his hair and moves her hand down over his chest, soon tracing the waistline of his jeans with her fingers, feeling the smooth skin of his stomach, her fingertips grazing his hipbone.

#

He meets her squarely when Wendy leans up to kiss him again and her teeth catch his lip. It’s a little rough, a little risqué, and utterly arousing. He never thought, honestly, that she would be _this_ good at sexy. He’s always appreciated her unconscious appeal, the little things that make him close his eyes and breathe deeply because she’s so very oblivious to the effect she can have. But now, now when she’s consciously doing things to turn him on, he wants to explode.

Her hips roll against his and he bucks to meet her. She’s good at that too, great with those tantalizing hips of hers. And then she kills him. Metaphorically. She guides his hand and his mouth at the same time and he’s lost to her. If she wanted tame, this was not the way to go.

Her breast is soft and full under his hand and _God_ , he still remembers what they look like in the gold of that street light on the beach. He wishes he could see her again but she’s letting him feel her up in a closet in the middle of the school. He can’t exactly complain. His lungs falter when her fingers touch his skin and he stills briefly.

He opens his mouth but he doesn’t need to talk.

His mouth falls to her neck again and he bites down unintentionally at the feel of her nipple hard against his palm. She gasps but her back arches into it. _Fuck_. She’s going to have a mark. A part of him crows triumphantly, _Good._ He lathes his tongue to soothe the sting then sucks to make sure it stays. She’s his now, for real.

Then he moves on even as he leaves her gasping from that. He pulls his hands free and starts working on the buttons of her shirt. He gets them open quickly, despite their tiny size and annoying hooks. Her pale skin gleams slightly in the dimness and runs the flat of his palms down from her shoulders, over the gentle swell of her breasts then over her stomach. He meets her eyes as he drags his hands back up and cups her breasts fully.

“You’re gorgeous,” he tells her lowly as he glides his hands around to her back. She watches him with wide eyes and a heaving chest, gaze locked with his as he lowers his mouth to tongue at the top of her bra. His fingers work deftly behind her and suddenly the fabric comes loose.

Before he does anything else, he looks up at her for a sign of discomfort. Her mouth is open, she’s panting and he can feel the heat of their combined flushing but nothing about her says stop so he bites at the fabric and tugs it downward until her breasts are bared to him.

It occurs to him then that he has Wendy Darling in a closet, half-naked and willing and he is so fucking hard it almost hurts.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he curses harshly before closing his mouth around her tight nipple.

#

His teeth sink into her neck, and she gasps, instinctively leaning into him as his mouth presses against the bite, his tongue running over the mark of his teeth, and Wendy closes her eyes, chest heaving, heart pounding.

Before she knows what’s happening, he’s unbuttoning her shirt, and she thanks the heavens that the closet had a lock. His movements are fast, expert – she watches him, breathless, as he focuses on getting her blouse open, baring her stomach to him. His hands cup her breasts, and her breath hitches as she instinctively leans into his touch.

The compliment rolls off her because his mouth is descending on her flesh again, pushing all coherent thoughts from her mind, as she tenses slightly when she feels him reach behind her to unclasp her bra.

Damn, he’s fast. Isn’t undoing a bra clasp considered some kind of challenge for boys in general? Apparently, the rules don’t apply to him.

He glances at her, silently asking permission, and there is absolutely no part of her that wants to tell him to stop. They are in a closet, at school, while their classmates are listening to lectures – and here she is, with Peter Pan, about to let him take off her bra.

She’s starting to think the fear of getting caught is, somehow, adding to the thrill of the situation.

She doesn’t blush when he bares her chest to him. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before. There’s a look of pure lust in his eyes, and she enjoys seeing it too much – she likes that she has this effect on him and a primal, irrational part of her gets a kick out of the idea that he probably didn’t react this way to other girls.

He curses as his mouth closes around her hardened nipple, and both her hands tangle in his hair, her knuckles tensing as she leans her head back against the door, biting her lip to stifle a moan. The low, suckling sound she hears is almost lewd enough to make her flush, and she finds herself pulling him closer, arching her back into his touch. She feels his teeth graze her skin and she, panting helplessly, is enslaved by his touch.

His mouth moves from her breast to her collarbone, nipping and licking her skin as she lets her hands roam over his strong shoulders, trailing down his arms. Once again, her fingers hook into his belt loop – she really likes that doing that, for some reason. She shifts a little against the door, and she feels him, hard against her thigh.

Before she does it, she already knows it’s a terrible, terrible idea. But that never stopped her before.

While his lips close around her breast once again, she lets her fingertips travel down below his waistline, and gently, but firmly, she palms his erection through the fabric of his jeans, feeling the warmth of his throbbing flesh through the material.

#

The feel of her is intoxicating. Her skin is so, so soft in his mouth, smooth against the inside of his lips, and he suckles at her like a baby. He thinks he could spend forever worshipping her breasts. They’re pert and pretty and perfect. He relishes one completely then moves his mouth back up her neck, savouring every inch of her exposed skin. He sucks another lighter mark into her collarbone before ducking his head back down to the other nipple. He likes symmetry.

He feels her tugging him closer by the belt loops as he lavishes her with attention, feels her leg rubbing against his hardness, and rocks his hips against her as she trails her fingertips along his skin. He’s not prepared for the feel of her hand on his cock. Not at all.

It such a surprise, he barely stops himself for hurting her with his teeth.

He releases her breast with a gasp. As she moves her hand up and down his length gently, tentatively, all he can do is press his forehead against her bared collar and pant. She’s never touched him before. Not seriously. He’s always been the one to touch her and this…god, he was not prepared for this this morning.

“Don’t stop,” he rasps when her fingers suddenly still. “Please.”

She kisses him just above his ear and, oh my god, her hands are shaking but determined as they work his belt buckle loose. He’s frozen as he watches her work his fly open, incapable of motion beyond breath and trembling. He’s aching under the cotton his boxers and he thinks she’s going to stroke him through the thin material. He’s quaking with anticipation that gets utterly disemboweled when she reaches for the elastic of his waistband and pushes it _down_. Then her soft warm hand is on him and--

_Holy fucking shit. Heaven is a place on Earth and it’s in this tiny fucking closet._

She strokes him once, twice, and he’s biting his lip to keep from moaning. He opens his eyes (doesn’t even remember when he closed them) and kisses her as she touches him.

“Fuck, Wendy,” he groans and she twists her hand. She smirks at that and she’s the sexiest woman in the world forever. He thinks he could come just from the look on her face and he leans forward again to kiss her but she _disappears_.

He blinks at the absence of her for a moment then he _feels_ it and he shudders from tip to toe, knees weak as jelly and the sound that comes out of his mouth is ragged and feral and probably way too loud.

Peter doesn’t care because Wendy’s breath shifts across his cock again and he’s about to collapse.

#

His reaction is probably the best thing she ever saw. He completely unravels as she starts moving her hand tentatively over him – she _is_ nervous, but the excitement trumps that. He asks her not to stop as she hesitates, and his throaty, low words make her smile: it sends a rush of _power_ through her.

This is Peter Pan, and she has him _yearning_ , leashed to her through the mere touch of her fingertips against his jeans. He’s an experienced boy, as she knows, and she’s far from skilled, but she still manages to make him gasp, unable to hold his head up, resting his forehead against her collarbone.

She keeps going and, with trembling fingers, she undoes his belt, swallowing as she catches a glimpse of his boxers beyond the opened zipper. She tries to move with more confidence than she feels, but truthfully, the nervousness is fading. She’s no blushing flower, and her agitation mostly comes from a lack of experience, from the feeling of novelty, rather than actual stress.

She likes to go for the unexpected.

She reaches for the waistband of his underwear, and exhales shakily as she moves it down. She catches a glimpse of his cock in the dim light of the closet, and she wraps her hand around it without hesitation.

His skin is hot against her palm, and she bites her lip instinctively, looking down, giving him a few strokes, before she feels Peter shift – he catches her mouth with his, and when he groans, she feels like a _queen_.

Her smirk shows him that she can be smug, too.

She tightens her grip around him, and she thinks fast – she may never have done this before, but she knows how it _works_. She knows hand jobs are messy.

And well, she _did_ say she would return the favor to him, someday. Looks like it might be now.

Usually, in the midst of her encounters with Peter, her mind is a haze, and she lets herself be carried by her lust and instinct. But this time, while desire certainly drives her forward, she’s very much in control of what she’s doing. Her legs feel a little shaky, and it’s almost a relief to her when she kneels down in front of him, taking a deep breath, bracing herself for what she’s about to do.

_Here we go._

She closes her eyes, her heart thumping in her chest, and she takes him into her mouth.

His reaction, once again, makes up for any hesitancy she might have had. His flesh is warm and smooth into her mouth, and she keeps a hand wrapped around the base of his cock, helping herself along. This is new, but not unpleasant – not that she thought it might be.

Not with Peter.

She moves her lips over his skin, engulfing him into the silk of her mouth, stroking him with her other hand – the little sounds he makes tell her she must be doing something right, and she hears him curse again, under his breath. She wants to grin – instead she pulls back a little, and tentatively runs her tongue across his tip.

She glances up, and the look on his face is priceless. He feels her still and he looks down, his eyes hazy. She meets his eyes before she closes them again, taking him back into her mouth – she wonders if she’s supposed to _enjoy_ that so much. She reaches up to take one of his wrists, and she places his hand on the back of her head – his fingers tangle in her hair, a little roughly, but not brutally. It sends tingles down her spine and she starts moving faster, encouraged by the ragged rhythm of his breath. He feels warm, good into her mouth – somehow, the feel of him, and the knowledge of the effect she has on him is spawning an ache between her legs. She presses her thighs together, and tries to focus her attention on him.

She overshoots a little when she tries to take him fully into her mouth – something tightens uncomfortably at the back of her throat, and she pulls back. Okay. Bad idea, for now. She swallows, wondering if Peter minds that she has absolutely no idea what she’s doing.

Suddenly, as she feels Peter’s fingertips dig into her scalp, like he’s trying to restrain himself from forcing her head to move faster, she realizes that she’s giving Peter Pan a blowjob in a school closet, and instead of being ashamed, she feels completely triumphant.

The pressure of her mouth on him increases, and she quickens her pace. Her jaw is starting to feel a little sore, but she keeps going nonetheless – she feels Peter’s grip on her tighten, and his breath comes in a series of short, quiet little gasps until he groans, too loud, in a raw, rough sound that sends heat pooling down in Wendy’s core. He releases into her mouth and she swallows, in a gulp, the slightly bitter-tasting liquid.

This is definitely not the way she envisioned her Monday morning.

#

He tries to keep his eyes open but the weight of what’s happening is too much and they slide shut as Wendy’s mouth closes over him.

_Dear God in Heaven._

Her mouth is like silk.

_God._

_Oh fucking God almighty._

“Shit,” he breathes when his larynx starts to function again. His eyes are wide open and all he can see is Wendy Darling on her knees in front of him; her hand wrapped around his cock, mouth open with pink lips slick.

Then she licks her tongue across his tip and he buckles a little.

_Holy shit._

He’s closer to coming than he should be but then again, Wendy Darling is giving him a blowjob in a school closet.

 _Fuck._ This is his life. This is _actually_ his life. _Holy fucking shit_.

As if it couldn’t get better, she reaches up and puts his hand on the back of her head and— _oh my god, this girl means to fucking kill him._ He can’t think. All he can do is feel as she starts to suck him in earnest. _God._

She’s no expert but she’s got the right idea and her touch is anything but unpleasant.

Suddenly, he feels his tip hit the back of her throat and he jerks back by force. It’s a monumental effort given that all he wants to do is tighten his grip on her hair and fuck into her face until he cums down her throat and she swallows around him.

Not that he thinks that’s going to happen. Wendy Darling isn’t the kind of girl who swallows.

It doesn’t deter her though and he’s blown (in more ways than one) by the sheer audacity of his little bird. He never thought her weak or shy but…there has always been an innocence to her that made him categorize things like this firmly as pure fantasy. But this is really happening and _Jesus Fucking Christ on a pogo stick, what is she is even--?_

His grip on her hair tightens instinctively, he doesn’t even get a chance to say anything except for a long, drawn out sort of “haaaaaa” sound as he releases into her mouth and—

_and—_

she fucking _swallowed_.

This time, his knees do actually give out and he crumbles down to the floor in front of her. He’s panting harshly, barely capable of breath, and she’s sitting there looking as shell-shocked by her actions as he is.

Her lips are reddened, swollen and parted, lipgloss smeared off along the side of her cheek and she looks absolutely _lewd._

He tries to catch his breath as he watches her, eyes fixed on that sinful mouth. God, that’s one way to break him for the rest of his life. Wendy Darling’s blowjobs.

Wendy Darling just gave him a blowjob. And swallowed. And—

 _Fuck_ , her tongue flickers out to lick at, _holy shit,_ that was his _cum_ on her lips and she just— _fuck._

He surges forward and kisses her, mouth open and tongue utterly invasive. He can taste the slightly bitter tang of himself in her mouth and it’s so fucking hot he can’t even form thoughts. He wants to fuck her so badly it hurts.

He pulls his mouth from hers and raises his shaking hands to her body. He grasps roughly at her breasts and tells her, “I _need_ to make you come, Wendy. Let me make you come.”

#

As soon as she pulls away, a little jolt of shock courses through her - because that’s not really the kind of activities she thought she’d engage in so soon. She gasps a little when Peter slides down the wall, his knees giving out - he looks _undone_.

She watches him, transfixed, as he tries to catch his breath - his gaze is fixated on her mouth and, self-consciously,  almost, she licks her lips in a mechanical gesture,  the bitter taste of him still on her tongue. It wasn’t _meant_ to be seductive - but soon, Peter lunges forward and meets her lips in an open-mouthed kiss, one she sinks into without reservations. His hands move to grab her chest and the calloused skin of his fingers grazes her skin, drawing a little shiver from her.

The need, the rough plea in his voice would be enough to make her knees buckle if she wasn’t already on the floor. A little trace of worry hits her as she remembers that they’re in school, and she doesn’t know if she can be _quiet_. But there is an ache between her legs, heated, throbbing, and that’s going to feel horribly uncomfortable through the next classes.

As an answer, she cups Peter’s face with her hands and kisses him roughly, all teeth and tongue and she shifts on the floor to get closer to him. His mouth presses against hers hard, and the feel of his hands on her breasts, fondling her flesh, draws a small muffled moan from her. His thumb grazes her nipple and she feels like she’s on fire - she breathes out his name against his lips, pulling back only to have his mouth descend upon her collarbone.

#

Her kiss is answer enough. _Thank god_ , he couldn’t survive the rest of the day without making her come. There’s something in him that’s roaring to please her, worship her, and it will not be denied. He’s still a little shaky though – he hasn’t come that hard in a long time and she took it all. _Fuck._ He’s going to make her see stars.

He lets his lips fall to her collarbone as he adjusts himself. He tucks himself back into his shorts then puts his hands on her hips. He lifts her a little, pulls her upward and tells her hoarsely, “Stand up for me.”

She’s quiet and pliant. Her legs are wobbly from being on her knees and he runs his palms gently over them as he moves his touch upward from her ankles. His hands disappear under the fluttering material of her skirt, over the smooth skin of her legs, onto the soft satin of her underwear, then finally under the sides. He looks up and meets her eyes, not for permission but more to see what she looks like as he digs his fingers into her skin and pulls the flimsy fabric down her legs.

She’s ravishing with her shirt open and breasts bared, bra hanging loose and chest heaving, hair a mess. She looks half-wrecked and he wants to ruin her completely. It’s a dark desire but he won’t hurt her. He just wants to undo every seam, ruffle every feather and claim every part of her for his own.

His fingertips follow the dark blue of her underwear down to the tops of her shoes and he curls a hand around one of her ankles, helps her slip her foot free of the moist confinement. Shit, her underwear is wet.

He looks back up at her and he feels right, here on his knees before her. He could live here forever if she lets him keep touching her. He raises his arms and gathers her into himself. He presses a kiss over her crotch then pulls her down toward him. He helps settle her over his lap and murmurs, “Open your legs, Bird.”

She obeys with hesitance, unsure of what he’s trying to do, and he feels the need to reassure her even as she slides into position above him, legs spread and heated core hovering above his covered cock: “Don’t worry, Wendy. You deserve better than a closet in school. Trust me, ok?”

#

He tells her to stand up, and she obeys, his grip on her hips helping her up as a little frown traces her forehead. He brushes his hands over her knees, and the gentle touch reassures her easily – he slips his hands underneath her skirt, and slides her underwear down her legs.

She’s half-naked in a school closet, chest bare and with nothing underneath her skirt. The sight of Peter, looking up at her with a dark, breathtaking lust in his eyes is enough to make her insides twist, and she instinctively presses her thighs together, trying to alleviate the ache throbbing below her waist.

She’s so wet and slick that it’s almost embarrassing, but she’s not ashamed, not in front of him. He frees her ankles of her underwear, and she almost expects him to go down on her, right there, while he’s on his knees – she realizes with a jolt that she’d _want_ him to.

Last time was earth-shattering, and she wouldn’t mind a repeat, but things take another turn.

He presses a kiss to her heated flesh and pulls her down gently, making her sit over his lap. She tenses a little – just because she’s daring doesn’t mean she’s always comfortable with the unknown, and she has absolutely no idea what he’s _doing_.

He whispers at her to open her legs, and something overcomes her craving for release as she glances hesitantly at him, and she realizes that it’s uneasiness. She remembers that he told her, a while ago, that he wanted her to fuck her, badly, and she fears, for a moment, that it might be what he’s going for. However, she also recalls him saying that he’d stop at a word from her, and she’s convinced that it still holds true.

She obeys, her legs shaking a little as she exhales, from anticipation and nervousness – she’s not scared, she’s simply… _unsure_. Expectant.

As though he’s reading her mind, his words come as whispers of reassurance in her ear, and she lets out a little breath of relief. She presses a kiss to his lips, the heat of his cock underneath her enough to send a surge of warmth through her core, making her squirm a little in his lap, and she murmurs:

“I trust you”.

And then, she catches his mouth with hers again – she doesn’t move her body, but she’s pouring all her need for release into the kiss. She kisses him deeply, her tongue meeting his for a moment as she moans, quietly, into his mouth.

#

Her kiss and the little murmur of assurance strike straight at his heart. He knows that she likes him, knows that she’s attracted to him but trust is a fragile, precious thing and she gives him that explicitly, for the very first time. He wants to give her the moon and sun and stars. When she moans into his mouth, he wants to give her exquisite pleasure. He’s not sure he can manage it in the tightness of this closet but he sure as hell is going to try.

As they kiss, swaying gently back and forth as their mouths move against each other, he drags his fingers along the length of her bent calf and onto the inside of her warm thighs and then down toward the soft, slick flesh opened for him.

She has a beautiful cunt. He tells her so in a low, hard whisper before running his index finger in a gentle line along the center of her slit from her clit to her soaked opening.

“Fuck, you’re so wet,” he says as he strokes her lightly. He can feel her quivering, hot and slick and trembling even against his feathering touch. Her full bottom lip is caught between her teeth and he leans forward to lick at her mouth and save it from the abuse.

He runs the lengths of his index and middle fingers flat along her in one hard stroke.  He can feel her juices coating his fingers and he wonders how wet she gets exactly. But she bucks into his hand and he doesn’t waste any more time. He circles her opening with his index finger before dipping inside her. She feels like velvet inside and the noise she makes is like music to his ears. He works his finger inside her by increments while his thumb presses against her clit. He can feel it twitching as she clenches around his finger and god, that’s fucking hot.

“Look at me,” he says as he starts to move his hand in earnest against her. He sets a slow pace even though she seems fine. He doesn’t want to hurt her but he _wants_. He wants to push all her buttons and all her boundaries. Her eyelids flutter but eventually she meets his eyes and just as their gazes lock, he adds a second finger inside her. He watches with relish the way her eyes widen and her mouth falls open. She gasps, loudly, and he grins.

“I wish you could scream for me,” he tells her as he fucks her faster with both fingers. He runs his tongue along her ear and says, “I want to hear you cum again.”

She starts rocking her hips in time with his hand and he puts his thumb to real use. He rubs her clit firmly, hard rhythmic strokes that match the curling of his fingers inside her. He glances down as her wetness increases and his whole hand is slick with her and she hasn’t even come yet. _Jesus fuck._

He’s about to pick up his pace when the bell rings, loud and intrusive in their little corner. She freezes and he should too but it’s _exciting_. He can hear doors opening and their schoolmates moving in the hallway and Wendy’s hands are on his shoulders, pushing at him a little but he crooks his fingers inside her and grips her hip tight with his free hand.

“I want you to come for me,” he tells her as he moves his hand rapidly. He hears a familiar voice through the door, practically just outside – it’s Emma and she’s asking if anyone has seen Wendy. _God, this is hot. If only they knew._

He puts his mouth right against her ear so only she can hear him and says, “Imagine if they knew, Bird. Knew that you were right behind this door, legs spread, with my fingers inside you.”

As he expected, she clenches hard around his fingers and a strangled whimper crawls out of her throat. He kisses her ear and rubs at her clit with purpose. He can hear her muffled moaning against his shoulder and he can feel how close she is.

“Come for me, Wendy,” he demands and then, suddenly, she does.

#

His words, so blunt, so seductive, coupled with the way he moves his finger against her clit is enough to make her muscles clench, and she feels like she’s completely under his spell. She knows what he’s going to do – that goes without saying, but no boy has done that to her before, that’s for sure. Still, she’s throbbing in anticipation, and every little one of his strokes threatens to draw a moan out of her. His touch is so light, so fleeting, and it’s not nearly enough – she bites her lip to keep herself from whimpering out loud.

If he teases her much longer, she might explode.

One more touch, and she presses her hips against his hand, unable to contain herself – when his finger sinks inside her, she lets out a little, muffled moan, and his thumb brushes against her heated flesh. Her muscles contract around him, and her eyes start to flutter shut, before he tells her to look at him.

She does, forcing her eyes open, breathless, bare chest heaving as his gaze falls upon her. He slips another finger into her entrance, and she gasps in surprise, her head falling back as he starts to thrust his hand against her.

 _Oh, god,_ this feels good, and she never wants him to stop.  

His words are lost in the midst of her quiet moans, and his tongue brushing against her earlobe is making her see stars. She struggles to keep her eyes open, and she starts moving against his hand to meet his movements. He rubs her clit fast enough to make her want to _scream_ , and she bites her lip hard to keep herself from crying out.

He’s driving her completely insane and if she doesn’t come soon, she’s actually going to scream. Her movements become a little desperate as she rocks her hips against his hand, and she feels herself getting close, reaching the peak of her pleasure when suddenly, a shrill sound gets her down.

The bell.

 _Fuck_. No. Not _now_.

She opens the eyes she couldn’t help but close, and looks at Peter, breathless – her hands find his shoulders, and her first instinct is to get him away. They can’t do this now, not while everyone is outside – but Peter shows no signs of relenting.

He places his hand on her hips, keeping her in place, and she widens her eyes at him. Her need to stop is more instinct than actual _will_ to stop – but Peter’s hand starts moving faster, and her grip loosens on his shoulders immediately. She doesn’t even hear Emma’s voice coming from the door – all she hears is her own ragged breath and soon, Peter’s words against her ear.

People are outside, in the hallway, minding their own business, while Peter Pan is fucking her with his fingers in the closet, and in the heat of the moment, she can’t imagine anything hotter than this. Her muscles clench, hard, and a little noise escapes the back of her throat. His lips nip at her ear, and she hides her head against his shoulder as his pace quickens, his fingers working her, rubbing her, and she practically shakes around him, completely unbridled…

She shudders violently, her body screaming because her mouth can’t, and all that escapes her is a strangled whimper muffled against Peter’s shoulder as she comes. She comes hard, fast, and her fingertips dig into his arms so hard she’ll probably leave purple marks there. For a few seconds, she rocks her hips desperately against him, until the waves of pleasure finally dim – all she’s left with are sore muscles, and desperate attempts to catch her breath.

_Oh my god._

That happened.

That wasn’t what she expected when Peter guided her into the closet, that’s for sure. She feels dizzy, light-headed – is this what dating Peter Pan feels like ? Because if that is, she’s very much on board, and she pulls back from Peter’s shoulder, panting, to press a lazy kiss against his jaw, swallowing hard to wet her dry throat.

She still hears people outside, and she quickly untangles herself from Peter, scrambling to her feet, pulling her underwear back up and fixing her clothes. Next to her, Peter stands up and does the same. Midway through buttoning up her shirt, the haze of her mind clears, and suddenly, what Wendy thought about, blissfully, moments earlier, hits her again, this time with more weight.

What if _this_ is what dating Peter Pan feels like?

She can’t shake it. She can’t shake the little, gnawing worry that make-outs in the library or blowjobs in a closet is exactly how Peter envisions a relationship, and while she has no problem with that part, it’s not all she wants, and the weird, distant feeling she got from him in the morning when they met up comes back to her. She bites her lip, trying to shake it off as she smooths down her skirt – when he kissed her, earlier, by the lockers, he did it when nobody saw, didn’t he ?

Why is she thinking about this now ? What is wrong with her ?

_Imagine if they knew, Bird. Knew that you were right behind this door, legs spread, with my fingers inside you._

And yes, she gets a big, too big thrill out of the fact that nobody knows, but she hates the idea that maybe, Peter doesn’t _want_ people to know he’s with her. She likes the danger (she’s figured it out by now), she likes the excitement that Peter provides in spades, but…

She shakes her head to herself, trying to push off the thoughts. She’s overthinking it. They just started dating – she’s being ridiculous.

And she should probably get to her next class.

She turns to Peter, noticing the way he’s watching her, brow slightly furrowed in what looks like mild confusion, and she takes a step towards him, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

“We should get to class,” she whispers – her voice sounds throaty, breathless, drained by the moans and whimpers.

#

Her orgasm is a thing of beauty. All he can do is watch. It’s like art. Art that he had a hand in making (literally). He doesn’t even register her fingers digging into his skin hard enough to bruise because she comes completely undone.

He withdraws gently, aware that he’s probably used her harder than she’s ever had before and he doesn’t want her sore. He doesn’t want her hurt at all. He lingers beneath her, lets her lean her weight against him and press soft kisses to the underside of his jaw. This intimacy, this quiet, is like yesterday. There’s the heat between them but then there’s _more_ and he loves it. He hasn’t had a traditional upbringing so he has no mother and father relationship to which he can compare this but he thinks there’s a feeling of forever in what they have, however new it might be. He knows he feels like he’s been waiting on her forever.

He turns his head to kiss her just as she scrambles up and it leaves him feeling a little cold. He isn’t a cuddler at all but, with Wendy, he _wants_ to be. He wants to hold her in the aftermath and quiet her quaking. Wants to tame her hair and right her clothes and do all the sappy shit he will never, ever admit to with anyone else. That she pulls away so unceremoniously is…well, it stings a bit.

Still, she hasn’t tossed him a wave and left so he stands and rights himself as she tries to fix her appearance. She gets her clothes all right but anyone with eyes will be able to tell what she’s been up to with just a look. He’s more than a little proud of that but he tries not to let it show.

He fixes his buckle and glances back over at her just in time to see her shake her head with a little frown and worry blooms inside him. He wants to ask what’s wrong but suddenly she has this almost-genuine smile plastered on her face and she’s kissing his lips and trying to leave and he just – he can’t let it end like this.

He catches her elbow and halts her turn. She turns back around to face him and, as he expected, she looks slightly upset.

“What’s wrong?” he asks directly.

#

She’s going to be okay. She’s just being silly, and she doesn’t want to make a big deal out of her foolish insecurities and self-questioning - she’s ready to make her exit, probably quicker than she should (she actually _cares_ about classes, even if she guesses that he doesn’t). But Peter catches her arm, and she tenses a bit - she turns back to face him, and she can easily spot the worry on his face.

Dammit, she made him nervous. That was the opposite of her intent.

“Nothing,” she answers immediately, unflinching. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Wendy has never had any trouble lying her way out of unpleasant situations, when the need came - whether it was covering for her brothers or staying up past curfew in her room, sometimes sneaking out to go out with Tink - she isn’t above it. And right now, she really doesn’t feel like having this conversation: the bell just rang, and she feels a little restless, like the little space of the closet went from intimate to suffocating.

As good as Wendy can be at explaining the way she feels, well-worded and sometimes eloquent, she’s terrible at voicing what she hasn’t had time to process. And mainly, she doesn’t want to be the clingy girlfriend- it’s _Peter Pan_ she’s dealing with, emphasis on the last name. And it’s Pan she’s never quite known how to deal with, and that encounter in the closet was mostly, almost entirely, _Pan_.

It’s hard to reconcile him with the boy she spent a haze of a Sunday afternoon with, and she wishes the discordance didn’t bother her so much.

#

Oh, she’s a good liar. He knows – he’s watched her in action more times than she suspects – but she can’t fool him. Still she seems uneasy and uncomfortable and, most of all, unwilling to talk about it. So he decides to let it go, let her have her time to work out whatever it is that’s happening in her head. But he feels like he needs to do something – anything—to make sure whatever is wrong in her head isn’t because of him.

He raises his hand (the very one that had just been buried inside her) and rubs the back of it against her cheek in an affectionate gesture. He steps close again but without the predatory air he reserves for their more heated moments. He steps closer because he wants to be near her and that’s all there is to it.

“Hey,” he starts gently and it makes her eyes rise to meet his, “I—“

He licks his lips and bites down on what he almost said. He tries something else, something less intense. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if let you out of here looking like that?”

He reaches up and pulls on the light above their heads. In the harsh white of the fluorescence, she really does look wrecked.  She’s also frowning at him so he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He turns the front camera on her and lets her see her hair for herself.

“I mean,” he starts as she works at it with one hand and he works at the band around his wrist with his own. He slips the distinctive green band off his fingers and reaches up to stall her movements even as he keeps talking. He gathers her hair into a messy ponytail as he smirks at her and says, “you look perfect to me but I’d rather not have everyone in school see your sex hair.”

He uses his own wrist band to tie her hair in place. It’s not one of his leather ones, it’s soft and stretchy but very much unique to him and now he’s put it on her hair like a brand, like a claim. He wonders if she’s going to rip it off. He can see her studying it in the phone and he waits, nervously, for her reaction to such a bold statement.

#

Just as she nervously fidgets, hoping he doesn’t push, he brushes his knuckles against her cheek, and takes a step towards her. He starts to say something, and she looks up at him – she’s not sure what she hopes to hear, but he interrupts himself, and she frowns a little, looking up at him expectantly.

Then he mentions the way she looks, and the term boyfriend rolls off his lips with an ease that sets her fears at rest, a little. He turns on the light, and shows her her hair with his phone – her eyes widen a bit.

Wow, she really does look like a mess. _Damn_.

She tries to smooth it down, sighing at herself – her hair can be a bit unruly, sometimes. But then, she spots Peter working his fingers around his wrist, and what he’s doing makes her freeze – oh my god, is he going to…

He pulls the green band from his wrist (one that’s very, very clearly _his_ ), and he reaches to tie her hair into a ponytail. She’s left a little wide-eyed, stunned into silence – he tied her hair, and the gesture is so domestic and sweet that it takes her breath away, very differently from before.

His words about her looking perfect register, but she’s too busy staring at the green mark Peter Pan very carefully placed into her hair.

She’s pretty sure conclusions could easily be drawn from that – an elastic is subtle enough, but someone could notice, and the fact that Peter gave her his wristband probably means that he doesn’t care if people know they’re together.

 _Good_.  

She tears her gaze away from the phone, and glances at Peter – she realizes that, lost in thoughts, she’s probably been frowning for a few seconds, without giving him a reaction, and she smiles.

“Thank you,” she says. “... You’re a good boyfriend,” she adds, a little playfully, her heart jolting a bit as she speaks the word, herself.

She steps forward and kisses his cheek, sweet and soft (because he unknowingly made her very, very happy) – and she nudges him a bit, her fingers playing with his collar.

“Now get to class,” she adds. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

#

She smiles and everything lightens. This time, when she pushes him away, her fingers linger on his skin and he is ok with the distance between them. She keeps the band in her hair and that is more than enough for him.

He grins at her little admonishment and undoes the lock. He may or may not press against her just for fun. What? It’s a tight space. He winks when she rolls her eyes at him. The hallway is quieter now and he peers out. It’s easy enough for him to slip out after pressing a kiss to her knuckles and join the crowd. He sets himself a few feet down the hall from the closet and watches as she slips out a few moments later. She’s still got his band in her hair and her head held high. She’s fixed her face though, in the time she had alone, and she looks pristine save the hair.

He turns to walk away and meets directly with Rufio’s amused gaze. The other boy mouths I SAW YOU clearly. His eyes flick over to Wendy’s back and Peter sees his eyes widen at the sight of her hair. The confused look Rufio throws him makes him pause.

You know what? Fuck this. He’s been after this for years and now that he has it, he’s going to claim it. He turns around and hollers, “Oi, Bird!”

Wendy pauses, shoulders stiff, before whirling around to face him, face half-confused, half-irritated. He grins because that’s her acting face right there. He closes the distance between them quickly, other students interestedly watching the proceeding because Peter doesn’t usually make a scene like this. And he never talks to Wendy Darling like this. No one has the audacity to scream at her across a hallway. She’s too much of a lady for that. He would snort but it seems excessive.

He comes to a stop before her, doesn’t even think about it, just leans down and kisses her hard and quick and in view of everyone, then he asks, “Can I give you a ride home today?”

#

He kisses her hand quickly, with a grin, before slipping out of the closet, and she’s alone in the dark for a moment, taking time to compose herself. She fixes her face, regaining her composure, making sure her clothes are in order - she waits a beat before stepping out herself, putting on her best game face. Nobody bats an eye, though - nobody would expect Wendy Darling to have done anything you wouldn’t call proper, after all. If she’s standing a little too close to the closet door, it must be a coincidence.

She glances at Peter, whose attention is focused on someone else - one of the boys he hangs out with. The one Wendy refers to, secretly, as the _loud one,_ even though she does know his name. She walks off in a hurry, trying to get to her locker to grab her books before she’s late for the next class, when she hears Peter’s loud voice boom through the hallways, and she freezes.

People around her glance at him in confusion, and she turns instinctively, irritated, frowning - what is he playing at, now? And who does he think he is, just hollering at her like that? She doesn’t have time to get mad, though, because she’s mainly confused. Nervousness blooms in her stomach as Peter takes a few strides in her direction, quick, confident, and students in the hallway pause to watch the scene with interest. An old instinct almost kicks in, because the few words Peter and Wendy have exchanged in public over the years, save for this morning, have been less but pleasant, and her shoulders stiffen of their own accord, as though she’s readying herself for battle without being aware of it. She narrows her eyes at him, before her expression morphs into one of surprise as she realizes what he’s about to do.

He kisses her.

Right there, in front of everyone, without a trace of hesitation - when he pulls back, she’s stunned, and she gazes at him in wonder.

Here she was, worrying he might not want to be seen with her in public, and he just kisses her - somehow, his nerve unsettles her. Was it really that easy? Was she a fool for worrying?

She was practically nauseous with nervousness, and _he_ just screams at her in the hallway, and kisses her like it’s the easiest thing in the world. She’s not sure if she’s infuriated or charmed, but her heart is fluttering like a little bird flapping its wings: she gives him a disbelieving look, shaking her head, lips parted from the unexpected kiss. Her eyes twinkle with amusement and affection, even if she keeps her cool- honestly, she should chide him for howling at her like that.

The _nerve_. Honestly. That adorable, smooth _little shit_ , silencing her annoyance with a kiss.

“You’re unbelievable”, she tells him, smiling, shaking her head, almost forgetting about the question. “And _maybe._ If you play nice”.

Then, she can’t stop the full grin from coming to her lips, because they’re together, in public, and now, everybody knows, or soon will.

She’s Peter Pan’s girlfriend and nothing can take that from her.

She kisses his cheek quickly, because she can:

“Now go to class!” she says, pushing him away playfully. “Go!”

 

**WENDY:**

[text] my phone is being bombarded help

[text] how does news travel so fast

[text] a girl i don’t even know asked me if it was true that you had a tattoo

[text] help help i think my phone might explode

 

**PETER:**

[text] ha

[text] the wonders of modern technology

[text] really? what did you say?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i said nothing idk if you have a tattoo i haven’t seen you naked yet

[text] gosh my phone is exploding are people bothering you too ?

[text] probably not this is so unfair

[text] i feel like lunchtime will be interesting

 

**PETER:**

[text] that can be easily arranged. for science

[text] nope

[text] do you need me to get tootles and his sword?

[text] probably

 

**WENDY:**

[text] science is important. i have a scientific mind

[text] i don’t think tootles is going to help

[text] you sound so calm how can you be calm the whole school is freaking out

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’m sure there’s a lab we can use somewhere ;)

[text] i don’t care about the school. i care about you. are you freaking out?

[text] so long as we’re ok then i’m ok

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i am freaking out a bit but not because of you

[text] i’m not used to the attention i guess and well

[text] some people are surprised

[text] but we’re okay :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] good

[text] how much attention are you getting anyway?

[text] we can’t be that interesting

[text] i know we’re hot but still

 

**WENDY**

[text] a lot. people keep texting me

[text] you are

[text] you’re the mythical pan

[text] speak for yourself i’m pretty sure nobody at school but you thinks of me as hot

 

**PETER:**

[text] ignore or block them

[text] this is true

[text] you have no idea how hot you are

[text] i’ve busted more than one nose over you

[text] shit i wasn’t going to send that

 

**WENDY:**

[text] it wouldn’t be nice

[text] well you gave me some idea ;)

[text] wait what ?

[text] what was that ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] if you insist on being nice they’re never going to stop

[text] you did that yourself

[text] nothing

 

**WENDY:**

[text] …. peter pan don’t even try

[text] you can’t say “nothing” i still have your previous text

[text] what did you mean you busted more than one nose over me ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] you’re gonna be pissed

[text] there’s been guys who said stuff about you

[text] dick stuff about wanting to see what was under your skirts and shit

[text] and i don’t have the best control over my temper

[text] so yeah i’ve broken some noses

 

**WENDY:**

[text] really ? ugh guys can be so

[text] violence is stupid though peter i mean it

[text] really we aren’t neanderthals

[text] may i point out the irony that you were a dick to me for years and yet

[text]you appointed yourself as the lady’s defender behind my back

[text]i’m just pointing out the irony i felt like it should be said

[text] was it anyone i know ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] being a dick to you and being a dick about you are different things

[unsent text] i never

[text] the shit they said wasn’t cool ok

[text] no one can talk about you that way

[text] maybe? there was that one guy with the sweater vests you used to hang out with

[text] i think i fractured his jaw

 

**WENDY:**

[text] sweater vests ?

[text] wait EDWARD are you kidding me ?

[text] oh my god i remember him getting punched he wouldn’t say who

[text] that was years ago

[text] btw emma wants me to give you a message

[text] she says that if you hurt me she’ll beat the crap out of you

[text] her words

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah him. he was a douche

[text] he said something about you after gym

[unsent text] i snapped

[text] she’s already kicked me once

[text] warning noted

 

**WENDY:**

[text] in the future don’t punch people ok ?

[text] i mean i can appreciate the intent but

[text] i have two brothers already

[text] and emma apparently so

[text] my honor needs no defending

[text] just focus on your boyfriend duties

 

**PETER:**

[text] as a boyfriend i’m no longer exempt from that list

[text] and i think i’ve been damn good at my duties so far tyvm

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you’ve also been my boyfriend for ONE day

[text] but you are doing well :)

[text] how am i faring as a girlfriend so far ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] micro macro

[text] girl of my dreams, bird

 

**WENDY:**

[text] good :)

[text] according to tink

[text] there’s a picture of us going around ??

[text] are we on gossip girl or something what the hell ??

 

**PETER:**

[text] who had the time to take a pic

[text] hold on

[text] *picture attachment of the two kissing in the hallway*

[text] we look good ;)

 

**WENDY:**

[text] how did you get that picture so fast ?

[text] we do look good but that’s not the point

[text] do you want to hear something really stupid ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] i have my sources

[text] yeah the point is your sex hair is hot

[text] sure

 

**WENDY:**

[text] what sources do you have some sort of secret network like sherlock

[text]... thank you ?

[text] okay so the thing is i was actually afraid you didn’t want people to know you were dating me

[text] so i’m really happy you’re cool with it it’s nice :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] not telling ;)

[text] babe i’ve wanted you for years

[text] i’d sky write it if you wanted me to

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you are so sweet

[text] i can’t believe i’m actually dating you

[text] i am your actual real girlfriend

[text] i feel like this deserves a musical number of some kind

 

**PETER:**

[text] feeling’s mutual

[unsent text] you have no idea how much i’ve

[text] no singing

[text] this isn’t fucking disney bird

 

**WENDY:**

[text] disney is awesome

[text] no argument is allowed

[text] so you’ll never serenade me ? shame

 

**PETER:**

[text] it’s alright

[text] i played my flute for you. that’s got to count for something

 

**WENDY:**

[text] true

[text] alice says she called it from the start

[text] that you and i would get together

[text] honestly she could have given me a heads-up silly friend

 

**PETER:**

[text] jsyk you can play both my flutes anytime ;)

[text] alice is the loopy looking blonde, right?

[text] guess she isn’t that loopy after all

[text] its not like it was obvious

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you are so witty

[text] yes she’s the blonde

[text] you should get to know my friends at some point

[text] if you’re going to be my boyfriend and all

 

**PETER:**

[text] oh the cleverness of me

[text] i could

[text] but one kicked me in the balls and i broke your ex’s nose

[text] two of them actually

[text] this might not be the best idea you’ve ever had bird

 

**WENDY:**

[text] yes but if i recall well you earned it you were kind of a douche to them

[text] so play nice

[text] play nice and rewards will come

 

**PETER:**

[text] actually swan kicked me the week she transferred here

[text] i was being completely charming

[text] oh bribery already?

[text] every man has his price. make me an offer i can’t refuse

 

**WENDY:**

[text] she tells the story very differently yk

[text] ;)

[text] well i’m not saying that sometime you could come over

[text] when i have the house to myself

[text] but it’s a possibility

[text] my bed is really comfortable the mattress is a++

[text] for naps and all

 

**PETER:**

[text] not surprised

[text] fuck

[text] offer accepted

[unsent text] if you think you’re getting any sleep

 

**WENDY:**

[text] deal

[text] class is boring and i’m hungry

[text] the text attacks seem to have died down

 

**PETER:**

[text] god bird go easy

[text] you wanna go somewhere for lunch?

[text] this school has the attention span of a goldfish

 

**WENDY:**

[text] nerd confession : never been out of school for lunch

[text] actually that’s a lie tink took me out once

[text] but sure :)

 

**PETER:**

[text] then let me be your first

[unsent text] shit but yes please

[text] where do you wanna eat?

[text] burgers? burritos? beach?

[text] #sorrynotsorry

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you’re unbelievable

[text] burgers sound good

[text] we should take felix and tink with us

[text] and ask them how the hell WE started dating before them

 

**PETER:**

[text] thanks i know ;)

[text] ok

[text] yeah i guess if you want to

[text] actually that’s probably a good idea

[text] or we might never make it back

 

**WENDY:**

[text] wasn’t this morning enough for you ?

[text] are you perpetually horny ?

[text] but yes let’s take them with us it will be fun

[text] i need to make friendship with felix

[text] i need him to tell me all your secrets

[text] and show me baby pictures of you

 

**PETER:**

[text] bird i always want you

[text] i’ve always wanted you

[text] it’s probably unhealthy tbh

[text] ha felix is too loyal for that

[text] you can try if you must

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i want you too

[text] but i also want a burger

[text] challenge accepted

[text] i just had a scary thought

 

**PETER:**

[text] ditch tinklix and you can have both ;)

[text] what?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] tinklix? does that make us pendy ? wenter ?

[text] i’m going to have to tell my brothers that i’m dating you

[text] this will be a fun discussion

 

**PETER:**

[text] your choice. i like pendy

[text] oh yeah

[text] have fun with that

[text] i’ll be in australia

 

**WENDY:**

[text] might not be far enough

[text] i’m kidding it will be fine

[text] just look out for a red convertible

 

**PETER:**

[text] i swear he tried to run me over once

[text] you come from a terrifying family darling

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you think john’s scary

[text] you don’t know my dad

[text] but i’ll protect you

[text] i can fence remember

[text] i’ll be your knight in shining armor

 

**PETER:**

[text] i know you think you’re helping but you’re really not

[text] you will?

[text] should i be offended or honoured?

[text] or do you just like playing with swords?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] definitely honoured

[text] i only play with the big swords

 

**PETER:**

[text] why thank you ;)

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you’re welcome ;)

 

**PETER:**

[text] did you text tink yet?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] no not yet

[text] you don’t mind if they come right ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] i’ll tell felix

[text] no not really

[text] unless you wanted to ditch the rest of the afternoon?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] good !

[text] oh no not after i already ditched this morning

[text] school is important

[text] nerd and proud of it

 

**PETER:**

[text] they’re in

[text] i was warned

[text] *picture attachment of Wendy from the beginning of the year*

[text] so my girl is gorgeous in case you didn’t know

 

**WENDY:**

[text] you’re a lucky man she’s a keeper

[text] did you take that picture ?

[text] i don’t remember this at all

 

**PETER:**

[text] she is

[text] yeah i did

 

**WENDY:**

[text] it’s a nice picture

[text] i never saw you take it

[text] is that the only picture of me you have ? except for the ones i already saw

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah it’s a good one. you looked really good in that light

[text] no it isn’t

[text] *picture attachment of Wendy in the cafeteria, side-profile*

[text] *picture attachment of Wendy reading under a tree in the schoolyard*

[text] *picture attachment of Wendy talking in class with her bird shirt on, freshman year*

[text] you wanted to know why i called you bird, right?

 

**WENDY:**

[text] oh

[text] wow that last one is old i can’t believe you still have that

[text] is it because of the shirt ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] i don’t delete much

[text] partially

[text] that’s freshman year. week two. english class. you did a presentation on dickens i think

[text] you talked with your hands and i thought bird wings

[text] it stuck

 

**WENDY:**

[text] wow

[text] i can’t believe you remember this

[text] i’m speechless

 

**PETER:**

[text] you made an impression

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i can see that

[unsent text] you really liked me all this time ? that much ?

[text] i never thought you were paying so much attention to me

[text] i wish i’d known

 

**PETER:**

[text] what would it have changed?

[text] and maybe you’re just blind bird

[text] ALICE knew

 

**WENDY:**

[text] it would have changed a lot of things

[text] you covered it up well

[text] she probably didn’t know you liked me

[text] she probably figured out that i liked you

 

**PETER:**

[text] like what?

[text] too well maybe. i almost lost you

[text] i doubt she figured you out

[text] if i covered it up well, you buried it in the sahara babe

[text] i had no idea and i was always paying attention to you

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i don’t know. we could have avoided a lot of pain

[text] i covered it up in front of you

[text] i didn’t want you to know

[unsent text] i cried into my pillow a lot

 

**PETER:**

[text] probably

[text] would’ve saved me some scars

[text] why not? i mean

[text] fuck if i known even a little bit

 

**WENDY:**

[text] well i don’t want to bring that up again but as you recall

[text] you were a dick to me more than half the time

[text] i didn’t want to give you more ammunition

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah dont remind me

[text] god i wouldn’t have

[text] you’re literally all i’ve wanted since the day i met you

[text] i didn’t know

[text] fuck i STILL  don’t know how to handle that

 

 **WENDY** :

[text] me neither to be honest

[text] but hey we’re past that

[text] we’re together and we love each other so all the bad stuff is in the past  

 

**PETER:**

[text] yeah we are

[text] we

[text] wendy what

[text] do you mean that?

 

**WENDY:**

[unsent text] mean wha

[text] OH

[text] well yes

[text] but i didn’t want to say that through text though that was lame

[text] but i do mean it

[text] you’re amazing and i’m glad we’re together even if it was a very bumpy ride

 

**PETER:**

[text] it doesn’t matter

[text] i love you too

[text] i love you

[text] god, i really fucking love you, Wendy Darling

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i do too

[text] and the only reason i’m not typing out is because i want you to hear it from my voice once before okay

[text] i am old-fashioned

[text] but i really really do

 

**PETER:**

[text] how much longer does this period have?

 

[text to felix] cancelling lunch plans. go suck face with tink.

[text to felix] WENDY DARLING LOVES ME

 

[text] i’ve already said it so i love you, bird

[text] i have for a long, long time

[unsent text] i probably always will

 

**WENDY:**

[text] i think the bell is about to ring

[text] i know :) <3

[text] meet me at my locker after class and we can sneak out ?

 

**PETER:**

[text] ok <3

  
#

Peter springs from his desk the second the bell goes. He moves with enough purpose that the crowd parts before him. He doesn’t run this time, doesn’t sprint, but it isn’t necessary. He’s got enough determination that his long legs eat up the distance in no time. He turns into the hallway with Wendy’s locker and spots her blonde hair still tied in his band, still marked as _his_ , and his heart thumps.

_She loves him._

The thought sends a rush of adrenaline through his system, his brain flooding with endorphins and his body moves as though it has no weight toward her. She spots him and her smile is wide, brilliant, beaming. She’s like his own personal star shining in the middle of this unworthy, mundane school building. He loves her, he _adores_ her.

He doesn’t smile, doesn’t think his face can adequately express what he’s feeling, but their eyes meet and her breath visibly catches as he stalks toward her.

He knows she wanted to say the words to him but he can’t not kiss her right now. When he’s close enough, his hands reach out and fit—familiar now and utterly confident—onto the curve of her waist and in the crook of her neck. He pulls her close even as her back hits the lockers and slants his mouth over hers.

The kiss isn’t particularly scandalous for public but there’s intensity, an urgency and depth to the way he presses his lips against hers that he’s sure anyone can see. If he were the kind of boy to believe in such things (and deep down, he actually is) he would say that this, here, is true love’s first kiss. It feels like something powerful, unbreakable, unshakeable. It’s romantic and honest and ferocious.

His heart feels both light and heavy and he’s utterly ruined and remade in this one moment.

When finally he withdraws, he’s breathless but beaming. His smile is true and meant only for her. When her eyes flutter open, he greets her with the words he’s been restraining for weeks:

“I love you.”

#

There’s a familiar, yet new fluttering to her heart as she waits for him by her locker: she got out of class quickly as she could because she was eager to see him, and also to escape the people who wanted to grill her with questions. With the way the news seemed to have traveled, she wouldn’t be surprised if even the _teachers_ knew.

But she’s happy it’s out in the open. It makes her feel like this is the crowning moment of her high school life, as silly as it sounds - she’s Peter Pan’s girlfriend, and she feels like she’s in a teenage movie of some kind.

When she sees him, her heart soars and she beams, bright as the sun. Anybody who looks at her can see it, in that moment - Wendy Darling is _happy_. There isn’t a cloud in the sky. Peter walks towards her, with a sort of determination to his step, and she wonders, briefly, how she she spent so many years fighting it while loving him feels, right now, like the most natural thing in the world.

It’s like breathing.

She’s not sure when exactly she realized it - perhaps she knew from the moment he told her he loved her, in the lab, in the worst way possible. Perhaps it was later, when she got to know the boy beyond the facade, or when he held her in his arms the previous day - she feels like she realized it a million times before _knowing_ it.

He makes his way towards her, an arm slipping around her waist and a hand on her neck, and she leans into his touch with a bright smile, her eyes fluttering shut when his mouth descends upon hers. Her heart thumps in her chest, and the world is bright and soft beyond her closed eyelids.

They’ve kissed before, but not like _this_.  

This is the kind of kiss stories are made of. In the back of her mind, there’s a quote floating, hazy, echoing through the vibrant cloud of her happiness. She remembers the words spoken in a movie she cherishes, and there are no better words to describe the kiss they’re sharing right now.

_Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure._ _This one left them all behind._

Her heart feels as though it’s about to explode with the sheer strength of her emotions, and when Peter pulls back, her cheeks are reddened and her smile shines. He’s smiling too, bright, joyful - she wants him to smile like that all the time. He looks unburdened, suddenly, and she feels like he could make her grow wings.

He barely waits a beat before he says he loves her and this time, he gets the answer he’s been waiting for. Wendy’s smile softens into something warmer, sincere, and she cups his cheek gently:

“I love you too”.

#

In all his life, those are the sweetest words he’s ever heard –except perhaps the last time his mother said she loved him. But he doesn’t think about that now; not when this new happiness is before him. He lets his eyes roam all over Wendy’s face, trying to memorize the moment and the way she looks and the brightness of her smile and—

He touches his forehead to hers and tells her, for the millionth time it feels like, “God, Wendy, you’re perfect.”

#

She doesn’t think she could smile more if she tried - the look on his face is pure sunshine to her. He looks so happy, and she realizes, with a jolt through the heart, that _she_ did that. She made him happy. He presses his forehead to hers tenderly, and breathes out affectionate words. She closes her eyes, lingering in the moment, and presses a quick kiss to his lips.

“You are”, she coos softly (in that moment, she completely, completely means it). She reaches down to lace his fingers with hers, and she notices, over Peter’s shoulder, people watching them. She grins a little and hides her face against his shoulder, taking his hand in hers.

“Do you still want to go to lunch?” she asks, looking up at him.

#

He nods and finally takes a step back from her. He was so wrapped up in her smile he didn’t even notice how closely he’d pressed her into the lockers. It almost hurts to disengage. He doesn’t want to let go of any part of her but he wants out of school. He wants to take her away and spend the afternoon wrapped in her arms and in her love.

This is even better than yesterday.

“Let’s get out of here,” he tells her with a wink. He thinks she knows they won’t be headed back to school today because she rummages in her locker for a few moments like it’s the end of the day, not just lunch. While she does that, he glances around. The hallway hasn’t stopped –their school isn’t part of some teen angst flick—but every once in a while, people glance at them and they are obviously the topic of more than one conversation. He doesn’t give a shit.

When Wendy turns back to him, he tosses his arm over her shoulders and gathers her close. She fits perfectly into his side and he presses a warm kiss to her temple as they start toward the exit. People watch and he walks with his head held high and his girl held close and that’s really all that matters.

#

He tells her they’re getting out of here, and she grabs her stuff - there is no way they’re going back to class, not after this. Far from reasonable, of course, but life is too short for regrets. She wants to be with him, now - she wants to spend the afternoon wrapped up in him, in his embrace, brushing kisses over his cheeks and lips.

She turns back to him, and she feels a surge of pride when he puts an arm around her. It’s such a boyfriend thing to do, and it makes her heart flutter - she could very, very easily get used to this. People glance at them, and Wendy barely notices them. Still, she spots Bae and Emma a little ways from there, and she gives them a little wave. Bae watches the pair with a little frown, but he doesn’t look displeased, simply a little troubled by the easy, and surprising way Peter holds Wendy close. Emma’s dislike for Peter is apparent, but she still recognizes the glow that envelops her friend, and she gives her a little smile.

They make their way towards the exit and cross through the courtyard - Peter leads Wendy with a steady step. He’s probably sneaked out of school tons of times, more than the girl knows. The clouds are grey and the air is slightly cold, but Peter keeps Wendy warm and they soon reach his vehicle in the parking lot. Before they get inside, Wendy follows an impulse - just as Peter makes his way to the passenger door to open it for her, she tugs on his arm and puts her hands on his chest, turning him around so he faces her. She grins and leans her weight into him, pressing his back to the door. Standing on tiptoe, she brings her mouth to meet his and presses her body to his, her arms locking around his neck for a moment. The kiss is quick, half-playful, half-heated - her tongue flicks out, briefly, to graze the inside of his mouth, and she releases him with a bright grin.

After all, she’s very much allowed to kiss her boyfriend whenever she pleases.

#

As they leave, he watches her friends watch them. She waves at Floppy and Swan – those two are together a whole lot and it’s starting to look like Tinklix part two from where Peter is standing. He raises an eyebrow as Floppy frowns at him. Swan, at least, smiles at Wendy and under his arm, he feels a little bit of tension ebb from her shoulders.

They make their way to his Jeep and he, as always, reaches for her door when she suddenly puts her hand over the heart beating for her and pushes him lightly back against the door of his own car. It’s cute but also hot and he wasn’t lying when he said he _always_ wants her. She kisses him like the tease he’s come to know she is and he lets her. Opens his lips for her to dip her tongue inside and she does. It’s quick and playful and her grin of bright and happy when she pulls back but there’s a little bit of allure there too and it calls to him.

He pulls her back in for another kiss, a little deeper, a little hotter than hers but he has time now. He doesn’t need to take all he can get in the moment because the future stretches vast before them and he can savor this as much as he wants. When they break apart, he tells her, “Get in or—“

And then exactly what he was going to warn her about happens: the clouds burst and they are pelted with sudden fat drops of rain. He blinks and she giggles. God, she’s cute. He doesn’t need her to get sick though so he ushers her into the car as quickly as he can and runs around to the driver’s side. He slides in, runs a hand through his hair and glances over at her. She’s still smiling as she checks her hair in the visor mirror and he knows he is too.

They’re damp, grinning idiots in love.

He reaches over and curls his hand around the warm back of her neck and pulls her face to his for another short, sweet kiss.

“I love you,” he breathes again. Then, abruptly, “Do you mind if we do better than burgers?”

#

He kisses her again, and it’s enough to make her go a little weak-kneed. He’s a good kisser, and his lips are warm, full, soft. When he pulls away, she’s grinning, and what he’s about to say gets cut off by rain falling from the sky. The raindrops are thick and sudden, and the sight of Peter’s face makes Wendy giggle. She gets into the car quickly, though, the smile never leaving her lips. She shivers a little as she gets inside, and makes sure her hair is okay by checking it in the mirror.

Peter’s hand on her neck makes her turn her head, and she leans forward naturally when he starts pulling her in for another kiss. He tells her he loves her again, and she’s pretty sure butterflies are actually blooming in her stomach, batting their wings to the beat of her heart. At his question, she raises her eyebrows :

“Sure?” she says, quizzically. “We can go anywhere you want”.

She’s on the verge of saying she’d go anywhere with him, but it sounds way too romantic an answer for a question about burgers.

**FIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that is that. We stopped RP-ing in this 'verse since we both got very busy with real life. We may come back to this at some point in the future but that is a vague and distant hope so we are closing things off here for the time being.
> 
> Yes, we are aware there are some issues that have not been resolved but, as stated, we have to find a balance with real life. This RP, as wonderful as it has been, takes up quite a bit of time. So this is our makeshift ending, for now.
> 
> Thank you to all our readers for the support and, most importantly, thank you to the **Raddies** for holding our hands through this and sticking with us even if you disagreed with stuff.  <3


End file.
